All of the recent trends described above reflect the emerging international community to mental literacy, defined as follows:

Literacy in the traditional sense of the word means an acquired ability to operate with alphanumeric information systems in all the variety of possible combinations and combinations. Mental literacy implies, in addition, the ability to use existing knowledge about the biological and functional characteristics of the human brain, primarily its cortex and neurons, as well as data from the psychology of education, memory and creative thinking.

The book “Supermind” , which emphasizes the radiant nature of the physical structure and functioning of the human brain, plays the role of an introduction to the sphere of mental literacy, a concept that we believe will have an extremely positive effect on the development of the individual, family, organization in all its forms, human societies within a single country, as well as civilization as a whole.

1. Mentally literate person

In our, as historically, mentally illiterate society, the mind of the individual is enclosed in a relatively narrow conceptual framework, since he, the individual, is deprived of even the most basic tools that allow them to move apart. Even, it would seem, the most educated and literate people in the traditional sense of the word are limited in their abilities, because they are taught to use only a small part of the abilities, which are actually completely at their disposal.

Illustration showing the relative sizes of mental displays of a radiantly illiterate, linearly thinking and radiantly thinking mind, respectively. The self-developing spiral based on the thought-feedback cycle, characteristic of a radiantly-minded person, provides the possibility of unlimited growth for its mental display

Increased cognitive ability

A mentally literate person is able to launch the mechanisms of radiant thinking laid in his brain, which allow him to generate thoughts of virtually infinite flight. The illustration shows (from left to right) "mental displays" of the illiterate, "linear" and radiant intelligence. It can be seen that in the latter case, the horizons of knowledge are not even visible, thanks to intelligent mechanisms that provide a theoretically unlimited radiant thinking. Intellectual freedom of a person thinking in accordance with the nature of radiant thinking is ensured by the action of a self-developing mechanism functioning along an endless “thought-response” cycle and inherent in the very birth to the human brain - this wonderful source of mental energy, compact, unheard ofly productive and possessing practically infinite potential .

Applying the principles of radiant thinking allows you to perfectly master the most important intellectual functions of the brain, namely making choices, memorizing information and creative thinking. Knowing the processes of radiant mental activity allows you to make choices and decisions, using not only processes that are part of the conscious, but also para-conscious, and these are universes of knowledge, waiting to be known and put at the service of a mentally literate person.

A mentally literate person, in addition, is able to see what memory and creative thinking really are, namely, two systems of almost identical mental processes, but in a different way correlated with the concept of time. Memory is a re-creation of the past in the present. Creativity is a projection of the idea from the present to the future. Conscious development of memory and creativity through mind maps automatically increases the efficiency of both types of processes.

The best way for an individual to develop the skills and abilities necessary to achieve mental literacy, as well as to push her own horizons of knowledge, is to follow the principles of radiant thinking described in Chapter 10. Moreover, these principles lay the foundation for the development of mental abilities used by "great minds" (See Chapter 2 and the Appendix “Autographs of Great Minds”). By the way, Leonardo da Vinci, who, according to many, was the man who used his mental abilities to the greatest extent, formulated a four-component formula for the steady development of the personality in the direction of the optimally functioning "mentally literate" ideal.

Food for brain

The principles of Leonardo da Vinci for the development of a mentally literate person:

1. Study the science of art.

2. Learn the art of science.

3. Develop your ability to perceive the world, especially visual perception.

4. Realize that everything in the world is interconnected.

In the language of mind maps, the da Vinci formula would sound like this:

Develop all your cortical abilities, the whole range of mechanisms of perception and become aware of; that your brain functions as a single synergistic whole and the radiant-associative system within the radiant universe.

Applying the laws of mind maps and the principles of Da Vinci, a person is able to express his individuality in an infinite variety of forms and explore the previously unheard of depths of knowledge. As Professor P.K. Anokhin noted:

There was no hitherto man capable of using the full potential of his brain. For this reason, we do not accept any pessimistic statements about the limitations of the human brain. They are endless!

2. Mentally literate family

Relationships in a mentally literate family will be built on spiritual growth through close communication, joint cognition of the world, joint creative impulses and, of course, love, provided that each family member realizes that other family members are unique creatures that are extraordinarily complex and beautiful in their uniqueness. As John Raider Plat said:

If this property — to be something complicated — would manifest itself in the form of a luminescence of different intensity, so that it could be perceived by our senses, the biological world would turn into a moving sea of ​​light in comparison with the physical world. The sun with all its protuberances would be darkened in its gray simplicity in comparison with the rose bush; an earthworm would glow with the brightness of a lighthouse, a dog with the brightness of a city’s lights merged into one, and people would introduce themselves to us as dazzling suns, exchanging thoughts like lightning through the dull blackness of the surrounding physical world. A cut in the eyes we would call each other. Look at the halo around the head of your rare and complex satellites.

Isn't that so?

Yes it is.

3. Mentally competent organization

In the future, as we believe, a mentally competent organization, be it a club, a school, a university, or a business company, will function like a large family based on the same principles and perspectives.

Intellect card of Jonathan Montague, a student at Eton College, dedicated to a weekend seminar

In the 1990s. The first similarities of organizations of this type began to appear. Brain Trust, an international charitable society created in the interests of those who want to learn how to optimally use their intellect, has established Brain Clubs in ten countries around the world and now publishes a magazine called Sinapsia, the mouthpiece of the Brain Clubs movement.

Schools are seeing an increase in the number of teachers and students who are followers of the idea of ​​mental literacy, and in the world-famous Eton College, for example, the Brain School Club had already 300 members in its first year! (See above.)

Another example is the university in Durham, whose students, by the initiative of student James Lee, organized their club to promote the idea of ​​mental literacy and achieved great success in the development of a network of like-minded people, now with centers in almost all universities in England.

In the business world, the tendency to use the principles of mental literacy is also gaining momentum. In addition to the numerous examples cited in Chapters 25-27, it should be noted that the authors of books on the theory and psychology of business, as well as major philosophers, come to similar conclusions. Peter Drucker, for example, in his book Innovations and Entrepreneurship
predicts that “the head of the future will simply direct the cognitive energy of his subordinates,” and John Naisbitt justifies ten trends or tendencies of human development at the turn of the millennium in his “Mega-Trends 2000” and points out the following:

“Learning how to learn is what it is about.”

See chapter 26 (mind map).

Alvin Toffler (the author of the book “Awesome Future” ), in his book “Transformed Power”, expresses the same idea:

“Illiterate in the future will not be the one who can not read. It will be a person who does not know how to learn how to study. ”

4. Mentally competent society

As the number of mentally literate individuals, families and organizations grows, society in a single country will acquire the characteristics of a mentally literate organism.

Attaching due importance to trends in the world and to the corresponding prospects for the country, the United States Senate declared the 1990s a “Decade of the Brain” and adopted a resolution, an excerpt from which is given below:

The Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America DECIDED:

declare the decade beginning January 1, 1990, the Decade of the Brain, and also hereby authorize and request the President of the United States of America to call on all officials and citizens of the United States to mark the decade mentioned with relevant programs and activities.

This initiative has already taken effect. In addition to the fact that more and more research programs for the study of the brain are developing, companies, such as EMF, are undertaking action programs such as Education for the Future that promote mental literacy. We also witnessed the launch of the Education 2000 program, the goal of which is to find new ways to improve a person’s ability to study, develop programs that pursue the principle of “learning for life”, and conducting research on the needs of future schools. In addition, there is widespread interest in the human brain, which is becoming the subject of an increasing number of radio and television programs, as well as receiving increasing press coverage.

Societies of different countries are currently developing their own version of the declaration, similar to the “Decade of the Brain”, as well as taking concrete steps. An example is Venezuela, whose government created the post of Minister for the Development of Human Intelligence.

The intelligence card in illustration XXV on the color inset, compiled by Sheikh Talib, an Arab philosopher and thinker, is devoted to general ways of building a mentally literate society. Compiled in Arabic, demonstrating once again the linguistic universality of mind maps in general, the mind map covers such fundamental foundations as education, economics and politics, as well as other important factors, such as agriculture, services, industry, communications and marketing.

On the right side of the map, a separate branch is devoted to information technologies, due to their growing importance in the field of modern information exchange and business. On the left side of the map, the "Education" branch is marked with a drawing, in which two "people" in academic caps face each other.

Sheikh Talib comments:

With this, I wanted to emphasize the urgent need to educate educators. This task turned out to be committed to oblivion in many countries where it was not able to discern its enormous significance. A good plan succeeds only when adjustments can be made to it at any stage of implementation. Thus, the plan must be flexible and dynamic, in other words, it must be alive.

One interesting story is related to this intelligence card. When the young waitress was asked what she thought was depicted on her, she replied: "This is a drawing on how to build a better world." She did not know how to read Arabic and had no idea what they were talking about at the table at the moment she approached. This is a convincing example of the fact that the mind map is a universal means of communication, and also confirms the importance of further studying the nature of human perception.

5. Mentally competent civilization

From a mentally literate society to a mentally literate civilization just one step. Moreover, just before the beginning of the 21st century, the Brain Trust Charity took this step, declaring the 21st century the century of the brain, and the third millennium the millennium of the intellect. If you want to learn more about this initiative and find like-minded people, visit the Internet page at: www.Mind-Map.com. While the idea of ​​radiant thinking is actively spreading around the world through computer networks, satellite television and other media, the first steps are being taken to build a global information system that can be likened to the global brain at the embryonic stage of development. Thus, it becomes more and more possible to talk about the real prospects of the Earth to turn into a planet on which communication between people and knowledge of the new will acquire greater scope and complexity, simultaneously involving an increasing number of people and promoting their steady self-improvement. In other words, we are approaching the realization of the vision of the philosopher Olaf Stapldon, designated by him in his "Creator of the Stars" and dedicated to the global human intelligence, some four million years later:

In the practice of the human race, the system of the emitting mind, which covers the entire planet and includes millions of millions of intellects of all members of the race, becomes the basis for the manifestation of the racial "I". The individual finds himself embodied in all the bodies of his race at the same time. With a single touch, he can feel all bodily touches, including the arms of all lovers. By myriad legs of all men and women, he bypasses the planet. He sees everyone and perceives with one glance everything visually perceived. Thus, he sees the entire surface of the planet as a sphere uninterrupted and full of all kinds of colors.

But not only that.

His mind stands above the mind of the collective, as the latter over the mind of an individual. He observes people as someone would see his own brain cells under a microscope; how someone would watch the bustle of ants in an anthill with cold attention, but equally with the enchantment with which we sometimes see all the oddities and manifestations of individuality among our fellow tribesmen; but mostly he observes people as an artist, who has no other thought, like a vision and its embodiment.

In his racial being, man perceives the whole world astronomically. Through the eyes of all astronomers and from all observatories at the same time, he contemplates the path of his world through the Universe and looks outward. Looking at the Solar System at the same time from two diametrically opposite points of the planet, he sees the planets and the sun stereoscopically, as if with binocular vision. Moreover, what he calls “now” covers not a moment in time, but a huge century.

Is it possible for us to even begin to build such a mentally literate future? This book claims yes.