Spatial Thinking

From investigating what dyslexia and Irlen syndrome are, I have come across the realization that I am something of a spatial thinker; I tend to take a broad overview of a subject rather than a narrow, compartmentalized approach. For me there is little satisfaction to be had in taking the standard academic approach of just digging ever deeper into a narrow and strictly circumscribed topic. I want to find perspective. This has the effect that I find it very difficult to stay on a single topic for prolonged periods as I find that I need always to extend outward to the wider picture. This is not the same as having a restless mind that flits from topic to topic in an undisciplined fashion. Rather, I move between topics – exploring them and writing about them as I go – in an effort to construct a picture on a much broader canvas. Hence the way in which my websites are being used as an experiment in finding new ways of writing.

When undertaking research, trying to take a broad overview of a subject can be problematic. It may well be that no subject overview exists as such. By writing in a non-sequential and disseminated way, I am beginning to find that structures and relationships between ideas are beginning to reveal themselves as the different components are explored and put together. In this respect, using concept maps can be helpful particularly as this is a form of non-sequential writing. It is possible, by writing non-sequentially and without a deliberate structure or end product in mind, it is possible to produce something that others can, if they wish, read linearly. This continues to be an approach I am exploring.