“The greatest leaders in the world fight cognitive bias by developing ‘rules to live by’ and carefully following predetermined routines to maximize efficiency and control of their environment.” – Spencer Fraseur
Modern science finds premise on a rich heritage of observations, experimentation, ideation, theories, conjecture, information, and insight. In recent decades, scientists have investigated many domains, and neuroscience has emerged as a premier field of investigation. In this specialized domain, the term ‘cognition’ has attained evolving layers of meaning. Cognition thus is “a term referring to the mental processes that include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, decision-making and problem-solving.” This implies that cognitive processes are “higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning.” A flowchart for cognitive processes could thus, take shape as an ideal method for exploration and experimentation. Such instances of connected illustration can boost our understanding of the complexity involved in cognition and cognitive processes, and shape the fields of knowledge associated with this domain of contemporary science.
- Types of Learning Activity
The act of learning represents a primary instance of cognitive process; learning is associated with higher functions of the human brain and such activity remains central to traditional and modern education. In this instance, a flowchart for cognitive processes can describe the various types of learning, the stages of such activity, and the impact of learning on the fortunes of modern civilization. The flowchart can feature inputs from guides and instructors, and explore the processes through which learners apply new learning to existing bodies of knowledge. Each segment of such diagram operates as a demonstration of method and process, hence, designers can create variations in an established method as part of expanding the idea of learning. Segments of diagrams can also feature a range of inputs that help detail the enrichment of learning processes and mechanisms.
- Mapping Fluid Thoughts in Diagrams
Thought and reflection can feature prominently inside a flowchart for cognitive processes. It would be worth attempting to map the contours of thought processes within graded spaces of flowcharts. This exercise would allow the ideation of the nature of thought, its dynamics, and the various lines of information that can emanate from thought. Similarly, the idea of ‘reflection‘ can emerge as a construct that merits exploration inside flowcharts. Scientists may devise various lines of experimentation on thought and reflection and enroll volunteers that aid these efforts. A flowchart for cognitive processes can describe the various outcomes of such a venture, and enable greater investigation into these phenomena. Such instances of visual description enrich the domain of modern neuroscience and help expand our understanding of a said phenomenon.
- Merging the Virtual with Constructs
The idea of modern learning could be aligned with various activities that include study, research, levels of motivation in learners, knowledge absorption and its processing, preparation for examinations, the development of skillsets, and more. A flowchart for cognitive processes can allow these activities to take shape within virtual spaces. Subsequently, it is possible to develop co-relationships between these activities to develop a wider narrative that includes all aspects of learning processes. Analysts may examine the import of each activity, and drive the development of sub-processes that animate these activities. In essence, the flowchart emerges as an exploratory template that can contribute to our understanding of cognition – as an operational aspect of learning. Subsequently, the flowchart can be utilized for cognitive processes to develop new extensions to learning methods, techniques, and processes.
- The Role of Behavior & Choices
Examining various aspects of human behavior – as these pertain to cognition – must feature prominently in the flowchart for cognitive processes. The examination of behavior and the selection of certain modes of action could distinguish, for instance, the choice of methods applied by farmers to tilling the soil, the selection of inputs in modern farming, the idea of reducing waste generated by such activities, and other such processes. Constructing flowcharts to examine these choices, the motivations therein, and the outcomes of implementing the choices, would be a useful exercise. Additionally, such a flowchart could enumerate the various lines of outcome that emerge from the application of cognitive processes, the development of rationale in selecting a choice, the different aspects of focused action – thereby helping us develop a deeper understanding of organized activity such as contemporary agriculture and farming.
- Different Aspects of Brain Power
Certain experiments conducted in controlled environments can explore the phenomenon of human memory, its variations in the capacity within different individuals, and the computation ability built into human brains. It would help to position representations of these aspects in a flowchart for cognitive processes and subsequently, design various lines of interaction between these aspects and the external environment. The flowchart may depict a series of scenarios, wherein these aspects empower human beings to complete a set of given tasks. Additionally, different individuals may display varying levels of competence in discharging tasks – this lends flavor to the visual results taking shape within flowchart for cognitive processes. Further, exploring the nature of operational memory and the scope of computation ability within flow-based diagrams would be highly beneficial.
- Examining Language through Flowcharts
“Language and language development represent cognitive processes that involve the ability to understand and express thoughts through spoken and written words.” A flowchart for cognitive processes could be developed to explore the uses of language as a means of social interaction, the expression of human emotion, an aspect of modern culture, a method of integration into the social fabric, and other benefits. The flowchart may feature multiple layers and sub-layers that explore the aspects described above. It may also explore the evolution of language and the academic discipline of linguistics, as also the various sites of language development in the evolving human brain. Interestingly, the use of connected diagrams could spur new endeavors in research and development, thereby creating different areas of exploration in the contemporary study of languages.
- Study of Information Processing
The processing of information inside the human brain can find interesting representation inside the flowchart for cognitive processes. A variety of procedures and phenomena – such as attention, processing inputs from the senses, the use of long-term memory, the ability to perceive, the power to respond to stimuli, defining the contours of a response – can find representation inside flowcharts. The diagram could also feature localized versions of visually rendered sub-diagrams that explore the nature of each of these phenomena. These representations of the visual can describe the expanse of information processing mechanisms, adding heft to the study of major cognitive processes. Designers of diagrams, on their part, may build multiple editions of such flowcharts in a bid to study cognitive processes in greater detail.
- To Conclude
It would help to engage with these lines to develop versions and editions of flowcharts for cognitive processes. Designers must utilize their design skills and known methodology to develop and diversify these diagrams into stalwart illustrations. They may source inspiration from design conventions, as also from new knowledge emerging in the domain of modern neuroscience. They could enrich the expression of diagrams through case studies that explore cognitive processes in different stages and sub-stages; additionally, they may analyze the daily actions of human beings to create new scaffolding for experimentation. Certain segments of the diagram could analyze the components of cognitive processes, and the evolutionary impulses that power these phenomena.
Further, certain versions of flow-based diagrams could serve as exploratory templates that merge traditional knowledge with new findings in the domain of cognition and cognitive processes. In enabling this scenario, flowcharts operate as tools of research and new investigations; these constructs can empower science to embark on new voyages of exploration and ideation.
