FAQ

The Legume Method is an information and knowledge representation technique where I put technology pieces together in innovative ways. I use the brain, Mind Maps/Mindmapping, the web, eBooks, Microsoft Visio, Adobe PDF, self-publishing, YouTube, Information Design, and you to provide a powerful information representation and presentation environment. Using the Legume Method you organize and present information in a way compatible with the way the brain processes and stores information - small chunks linked to one another. A body of knowledge is considered a "book" where information is shown in a diagram with bubbles connected to other bubbles on a page and bubbles linked to other pages. Bubbles can also be linked to standard text documents and spreadsheets and to web pages providing a rich information exploration environment. In the Legume Method a single source produces webBooks, eBooks, and Books that are identical in appearance and form so the user's understanding is reinforced in each of the media. Further reinforcement is from vBooks (videos), aBooks (audio recordings), and oBooks (oral presentations) all based on the same single source. A simple web page provides links to all information forms and also to a blog building a community around the knowledge.

I am intrigued by the Legume Method. What should I do?

While I have been growing the Legume Method for several years, you are just beginning to understand its power. A good way to build your understanding is explore my portfolio available on the Legume Technologies website. There you will find examples of the various ways the Legume Method can be applied. If you find the Legume Method intriguing, I invite you to join in. I am convinced that others can create "Legumes" more powerful than mine.

My mission, through Legume Technologies, is to:

- Use the Legume Method for the good of others.

- Enable others to to the same.

There are at least two ways you can participate. You can be an "Early Adopter" or you can be a "Collaborator."

How can I be an "Legume Early Adopter?"

To become an "Early Adopter" you will need access to Microsoft Visio. I will provide you access to Legume for Microsoft Visio, the implementation of the Legume Method as a Visio add-on. Please connect with me.

How can I be a "Legume Collaborator?"

Another possibility is to collaborate with me in moving the Legume Method forward. This includes molding the Legume Method and its implementation is ways that provide value and exploring commercialization as an avenue for fulfilling the Legume Technologies mission.

There are probably other ways to move this effort along and I am open to your suggestions. Please connect with me.

How are the Legume Method and the Brain related?

One of the attractions of the Legume Method is its relationship to the way the brain stores information - namely chunks of information linked to other chunks. Think about this for a moment. If I say to you "Bacon and Eggs," what happens. You quickly conjure up many different thoughts and these thoughts link to other thoughts. This is a basic concept in the Legume Method.

Can the Legume Method be used to create Mind Maps?

A number of years ago I became intrigued with Mind Map techniques developed by Tony Buzan. Buzan reasoned that if one could create a diagram showing information in a way similar to the way the brain actually stores information, more effective information communication should be possible. In a Mind Map information is represented in bubbles around a central theme bubble tending to have a hierarchical nature. The Legume Method expands on this basic concept by noting that while hierarchies are one way to think about the way the brain organizes information, the actual form is much richer with information in a network of highly interconnected “bubbles” rather than strict hierarchies. So the Legume can be used to create Mind Maps and more.

How does the Legume Method leverage the web?

As the Legume Method was taking shape I was intrigued by the emerging World Wide Web. Two aspects were of the web were particularly interesting. First, of course, is that the underlying concept of the web is highly interlinked information. On the web you are "someplace" with easy ways to get "other places." It seems like this is how the brain operates also. Thoughts lead to other thoughts. This is how the Legume Method works. The second aspect of the web I found interesting is that you can create a “web” on your local file system, share it within your company's infrastructure by putting in on the company server, or with the world by putting it on the world wide web. While your information itself can be quite complicated, sharing it with others is straightforward. The web form created using the Legume Method is called a Legume webBook.

Can the Legume Method be used in Information Design?

Another influencer impacting the Legume Method is Information Design where the underlying concept is showing information in a way that users of the information can best absorb it. I was introduced to this by Mason Ping, then a student in the Design Art and Architecture Program (DAAP) at the University of Cincinnati. When making copies for me at Staples, Mason said "Hey, what is this stuff?" When I described what I was doing he said "Sounds like Information Design to me." This was confirmed when I was connected to Dr. Oscar Fernandez, a DAAP professor who directed me to the the Information Design Handbook by Jenn and Ken Visosky O'Grady a seminal work in Information Design. In a broad sense the Legume Method is an Information Design method.

Does the Legume Method require Microsoft Visio?

The Legume Method is diagram based and during its development Microsoft Visio emerged as a premier diagram creation platform. Because Visio has a powerful programming engine and Microsoft encourages add-on development for its products, Visio became the obvious platform for implementing the Legume Method and I created Legume for Microsoft Visio as a product. This approach enabled me to focus on the tools needed by the Legume Method without concern for developing the underlying graphics engine to support them. In particular I leverage Visio's ability to create interlinked pages, links to external content, and to create pdf output. Currently Visio is a prerequisite. Other platforms are possible. Connect with me if you would like to explore collaborating in this way.

Can the Legume Method create PDF files?

Simultaneous with the creation of the Legume Method, Adobe PDF has become more and more powerful. In parallel, programs such as Microsoft Visio have provided access to this power. In the case of the Legume Method, the emergence of PDF's ability to handle intra-document page links and links to documents/sites outside the PDF file have allowed the creation of Legume eBooks that match the power of webBooks for information access. This is critical for a common user experience independent of media being used.

What are Legume webBooks?

Using the Legume Method you "publish" webBooks, a fundamental form of Legume Method output. A webBook is an encapsulated set of files forming a "website" that can be accessed in you local file system, put in shared storage locations, or uploaded to a web server.

What are Legume eBooks?

The PDF output from the Legume Method creates a single file with all pages of the Legume. This file can be downloaded and placed in your device library of eBooks. The eBook is a fundamental part of Legume Method output.

What are Legume Books?

At some point in the Legume Method's evolution, Dave Lima connected me with Eric Vail from 3Z.net who reviewed what I was doing and said "You should write a book." While this sounded ludicrous to me at the time, further reflection led to the book form in the Legume Method. Querying publisher connection Jason Fremder about how to go about publishing a book led to the self-publishing industry with lulu as his preferred supplier. Publishing books through lulu has become my standard practice when the book form is appropriate. Self-publishing is another key element in the Legume Method.

What are Legume vBooks?

A Legume vBook is a video that walks through the knowledge/information in Legume webBook or eBook. Typically several vBooks are are used to reinforce the user's understanding.

What are Legume Homepages?

A Legume typically has a homepage associated with it. This is a simple web page with pointers to the elements of the Legume - its webBook, eBook, Book, and vBooks. There is often a link on a Legume homepage to a Blog for interacting with the Legume author.

What are Legume oBooks?

A Legume oBook is an oral presentation of the information in the Legume. While making the presentation you visualize the pages of the Legume and talk through them much as if you were exploring the Legume’s webBook or eBook. By doing this you enable the listener to review the material later finding that the content is identical. The oBook reinforces the user's emerging knowledge of the information in the Legume.

What are Legume aBooks?

A Legume aBook is an audio recording of the Legume. This can be a recording of an oBook or the audio portion of a vBook. The aBook reinforces the user's understanding of the information in the Legume since the content is presented in a way is identical to the other Legume forms.

Is the Legume Method a Content Management System (CMS)?

It is tempting to think of the Legume Method as a Content Management System such as WordPress and the like. In the sense that one of the outputs of the Legume Method is a webBook which is itself an encapsulated website, this could be true. Looked at another way, however, CMS is not the Legume Method focus. CMS systems are typically used to generate powerful and pretty websites leveraging all the power of the server/browser combination. The sites created by the Legume Method are really quite simple at their core. The focus of the Legume Method is effective information representation and communication, not powerful and pretty websites.

Can I Use the Legume Method in Microsoft PowerPoint?

There is no doubt that Microsoft PowerPoint is the de facto standard for presenting information. Because PowerPoint has emerged to support inter-slide and slide to external content links in fact it can be used as a Legume Method implementation tool. Because it lacks the diagramming firepower of Visio, however, using it for the Legume Method can be challenging. For those more comfortable with PowerPoint as their presentation tool, the Visio implementation of the Legume Method provides an export to PowerPoint facility.

What is the significance of the "Legume" name?

Legumes are plants that nitrogenize creating a rich growing environment. Similarly the Legume Method produces Legumes that are a rich environment for growing and documenting ideas.