Method and apparatus for displaying a thought network from a thought's perspective
First Claim
1. A method for organizing and processing a plurality of thoughts using a digital computer, the method comprising the following steps:
- defining a thought network that includes the plurality of thoughts, among which is an initial current thought, and at least one network relationship between the initial current thought and one or more of the other thoughts;
displaying a first graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the initial current thought;
selecting a new current thought from the first graphical representation; and
in response to the selection of the new current thought determining which of the plurality of thoughts, if any, are related to the new current thought, and displaying a second graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the new current thought.
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Abstract
An effective method and apparatus for organizing and processing chunks of interrelated information (or "thoughts") using a digital computer is disclosed. The invention utilizes highly flexible, associative thought networks to organize and represent digitally-stored thoughts. A thought network specifies a plurality of thoughts, as well as network relationships among the thoughts. A graphical representation of the thought network is displayed, including a plurality of display icons corresponding to the thoughts, and a plurality of connecting lines corresponding to the relationships among the thoughts. Each of the thoughts is associated with one or more software application programs, such as a word processing or spreadsheet utility. Users are able to select a current thought conveniently by interacting with the graphical representation, and the current thought is processed by automatically invoking the application program associated with the current thought in a transparent manner. Users can conveniently modify the thought network by interactively redefining the connecting lines between thoughts. In another aspect of the invention, attribute values are associated with the various thoughts of the network, and the network is searched to identify a subset of the thoughts having attribute values equal to a desired set of values. Further aspects of the invention include techniques for scheduling selected thoughts of the network for desired operations at specified times, and storing timing and usage statistics in order to preserve a history of the processing tasks performed on each thought.
189 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for organizing and processing a plurality of thoughts using a digital computer, the method comprising the following steps:
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defining a thought network that includes the plurality of thoughts, among which is an initial current thought, and at least one network relationship between the initial current thought and one or more of the other thoughts; displaying a first graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the initial current thought; selecting a new current thought from the first graphical representation; and in response to the selection of the new current thought determining which of the plurality of thoughts, if any, are related to the new current thought, and displaying a second graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the new current thought. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for organizing and processing a plurality of thoughts using a digital computer, the system comprising:
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a definition of a digital computer data structure that can represent a thought network including the plurality of thoughts, among which is an initial current thought, and at least one network relationship between the initial current thought and one or more of the other thoughts; and a current thought network display mechanism that, in response to the selection of a current thought, can determine which of the plurality of thoughts, if any, are related to the current thought, and can display a graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the current thought, whereby the display mechanism can display a first graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the initial current thought and, in response to the selection of a new current thought from the first graphical representation, can determine which of the plurality of thoughts, if any, are related to the new current thought, and can display a second graphical representation of the thought network from the perspective of the new current thought. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification