Explain the problem as you see it
On the homepage there is a picture of a visual graph showing your nodes and the connections between them. But this feature is not available in the app.
Why is this a problem for you?
I am having a hard time seeing my connections between ideas, organizing, and synthesizing those ideas with just text.
One thing is to search and see connections as text. Another is to see my ideas from a higher-order view, to zoom-out, per se. I am trying to organize my ideas and see them as a bunch of nodes similar to actual schemas (neurons) is incredibly useful if done correctly.
Suggest a solution
Please give us a graph view that at minimum is used to visualize my nodes in a graph view and be able to manipulate (make new ones, delete others) the connections (links) and positions of the nodes.
I'd love to use this view to manipulate connections (links between nodes), I'd like this to be more useful than roam research which moves the nodes to some arbitrary order every time you go to this view. If I move a node to a specific position and leave, I want to go back and see the node where I left it.
In the future doing some things like Heptabase/infinitymaps would be amazing.
27 Comments
That looks great. I find that kind of knowledge graph fascinating to look at — I used to love playing with it, for instance in Roam Research and later Obsidian. But what I missed — and I find most useful for creative work — is the ability to build and manipulate those relationships spatially, building the relationships by laying out and reordering ideas and images, as if I was working with cards, pictures and strings on a corkboard or post-its and markers on a whiteboard.
We think with hands and space as much as with words. This is why I prefer the Heptabase implementation at the moment, even if it does not have a full knowledge graph representation as such — prioritising build and manipulation over dynamic representation — although it has the options to visualise links and backlinks as lines between elements.
I think it's a key aspect of tools for thought, and given the interest this topics has among its users, it would be great to hear what the Tana team thinks about it.
I think I’m on the same page here..
A dynamic view of the graph is nice , but it’s practical use is very limited.
First of all, it only addresses consuming your existing knowledge graph.
Second, even that functionality is severely limited in the current implementations.
Getting more from an existing graph demands more then bubbles connected by tensioned wires. You need a(n)underlying Graph Query Language to select / easily filter relevant parts . You want scenarios/ stored perspectives. You want side-by-side views on parts of the graph, etc.
What we currently see is just a gimmick.
Not being able to create new information by manipulating elements of a graph by means of their graphical representations is a missed opportunity!!
Many of the best ideas / discoveries/insights comes from visual thinking and as such is often expressed first by means of graphic elements.
One area that methodologically will need attention is how to introduce more semantic value as we move from very informal drawings to more formalised ideas.
I think it would be beneficial to allow rather loosely defined semantic types at the one end , and then when concepts have been validated (on their merit), go through some stages of semantic refinement,
Richer semantics allow for more & precise reuse of knowledge, but should not be a burden to implement, nor hinder communication!
As an extreme example of such a formalised idea you might want to look at one of the ontology graphs that have been developed/evolved in the broader context of the semantic web.
I, like you, really need whiteboards and mind maps
Strongly hope
Yes! TheBrain's Plex is awesome, and I that type of diagram would map extremely well onto Tana ! (jump thoughts would just be related nodes in Tana).
I am currently populating a graph with a market segment network. All our customers, potential customers, their influencers, whom the influence. A graph from this information would be a game changer. Being able to represent all customers in a visual network view is exactly how we perceive the world.
I would love to have a graph view in order to help me visually see the strength of connections between concepts across content I've read. The use case for me personally is I want to write articles based on all the different kinds of content I'm reading, and therefore need to see connections between books, concepts etc. Moreover, I hope it'll show me unexpected connections, and a visual map is more memorable than lines of text. I've decided to go with Logseq instead of Tana purely because of this, but will happily switch back if you guys add a graph view!