Thinking patterns - are you linear, or a spider's web?

[Karl_K]

Reminds me of a funny story..
I was sitting in on a management meeting for a fairly large company because I was presenting the next years technology plan from the IT consulting company I worked for at the time.
I was a bit early so I caught the tail end of the sale department presentation.
Guy says this chart speaks for itself and it showed slightly rising lines, instead of the normal order of older to new he reversed them because sales were actually down slightly and put the dates in a tiny font.
I could not help it, I had my hand over my mouth trying not to laugh out loud. Then someone else took a closer look to see what I was laughing about and started laughing out loud.
I was asked to leave for a while but he was still working there a few months later and my plan was accepted.

 

[MMtwo]

I think everyone does both, but some people have a greater talent for seeing implications and consequences than others. I think that is more difficult than just doing step my step stuff. Eg. a complex financial model requires a number of assumptions to be considered and a variety of inputs, whereas a simple one is essentially a step by step calculation.

I think this is true, we all have to think sequentially to get our shoes tied, or walk through a door. I was having trouble shorting through all the jumbled thoughts the other night. All I needed was sleep and then some coffee and things went better.

Still, I am in awe of those people who can sort everything so naturally. It's a wonderful art.

I dont think.
I just release my brain on the problem and the answer comes.

Like answering here, if its a long answer that is how it came out it will not be in perfect English and the spelling will need spell check because my brain dont work that way but I just let my brain go. Thinking gets in the way of thought.

I get you. I do trip over good intentions sometimes trying to launch a final product, Rough drafts are okay . I'll try that next time.

While I am a combination of the two I lean more towards structure and linear thinking. I believe this is also referred to a being a target thinker.

I like to look at all angles to ultimately make the best decision. I enjoy making checklists and seeing it from all perspectives.

I start with the bigger picture. I ask questions to hone in on the real issue, analyze the possible solutions, and then hit my target so to speak.

But I am a bit of both because I do this quickly whereas many target thinkers are slow and deliberate. So while I am thorough in my thought process I don't take super long to get to where I need to be.


ETA: Just asked Greg and he said I am definitely a spider thinker because I think in many different directions. He said he is a target thinker. Oy to the vey. IDK what I am now. I am a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

So NM IDK what I am.

You can be both I think women tend to be more diffusely aware than men. It allows us to see things out of the back of our head So what may look scattered to a very linear focused person may only be so comparatively.

In any event, you are such a wonderful person. However and whatever makes you magically Missy really works. I do know you are focused based on your thoughtful answers that show you have read and thought about other person's posts. The word empathetic comes through too.

 

[MMtwo]

It depends on the situation, and am capable of both.

When I am performing a Root Cause Analysis, I can think linear and drill down.

When I am brainstorming, then I am allover the place, and plonk whatever that comes into my mind.

DK

You sounds like you are nicely balanced as the need arises. That's wonderful.

The challenge is usually to colapse the web by seeing the couple of key nodes and the path you need to get between them. This process is interesting, explaining how you got there is usually messy and not so fun.

Exactly! It's like translation work.

I am exactly like you. To a 't'

Data nerd, who never had a strong foundation in math....so settled on information architecture.

I design ontologies out of nebulous topics for a living...so yeah, I have to pull disparate concepts into something coherent and be darn good at it. Many of the ontologies are not linear, or hierarchical, but they have to take that form in some instances so they can translate to computer interfaces...you can't have a galaxy of interconnected content on a web page...or you can, but....heh....

I balance my strong ability to see a "milky way" of topics by rationalizing with meta data / characteristics. Those groupings can form hierarchies and become "linear" - it's a weird workaround, but it has helped me articulate things to other people without overwhelming them...I take delight in the complexity, most people do not...

I loved your answer. I love the complexity too, I just do a poor job of dragging it out of my brain and sharing what I see in a way that means something to other people. I will try to apply your meta data tags and see if it doesnt crystalize better.

I do web design too

I react more than act, atho I have spent years trying to not do that, my mind is like a spiders web, I can see books from elementary school in my mind, I can pull up signs in my head so I know which way to go, I go off tangentially all the time. BUT I cannot live in chaos, I am a neat freak, I only like linear lines and cannot stand flowery, fruity, nick nacks, etc.. after all the years I think since my brain is so bizarre that my environment must must be very logical otherwise I get freaked out..

It's so hard not to be reactive sometimes, especially given the current state of the world
Interesting - I always an very plain and functional. I cannot thing under stacks of clutter. I am easily distracted