ThinkBuzan, the new organization fronted by mind mapping inventor Tony Buzan, is doing some research into the field of creativity, and would like your help. Using the power of the web, Buzan would like you to take a 20-minute creativity test.

I recently had an opportunity to have a phone interview with Tony Buzan, widely regarded as the father of mind mapping. He believes we’re now living in the “Age of Intelligence,” in which power comes from being a creative, flexible thinker who can effectively gather, distill and communicate information. Read on to learn why mind mapping is the perfect tool for this new era.

ThinkBuzan recently announced that Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind mapping, will be coming to the U.S. in May to host a variety of exclusive talks, training events and accredited courses.

If you want to engage in a deeper study of the principles, applications and possibilities of visual mapping, here are 8 books that I have personally read and recommend.

Mind Maps for Business: Revolutionize Your Business Thinking and Practice is a new book from Tony Buzan and Chris Griffiths, CEO and Founder of Buzan Online, that shows you how to develop your visual thinking skills core business areas, including project management, selling and leadership.

In a recent e-mail to its affiliate sales team, the developers of iMindMap recently announced that they are working on an iPhone version of the creative mind mapping program, which is expected to be available some time this fall.

Buzan Online recently announced the availability of iMindMap version 4.0, which will be officially launched in May. This new version offers a number of exciting new features and enhancements, including a full-featured presentation mode.

Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind mapping, has spent a large part of his life analyzing how the brain works, and how to visually transfer one’s ideas to paper or screen. Most people realize that mind maps are useful for brainstorming – for quickly capturing ideas as they occur. But few people truly understand the immense power of this technique as a creative problem-solving tool.

One of the real strengths of mind mapping is that it leverages your brain’s awesome associative powers. But in order for you to realize that potential, you need to be sure to select keywords for your first-level topics that help you to make additional connections and generate valuable ideas. Here are some questions and tips that will help you to create more powerful and persuasive mind maps.

Basic ordering ideas are the first level topics that radiate out from your map’s central topic. They are the key concepts that help you to produce the greatest number of associations as you develop a mind map. You can almost certainly improve the quality of your mind maps by being aware of how to create good basic ordering ideas.