Introduction

AI tools like Chat GPT are transforming how we approach complex ideas. One of the things I enjoy doing with Chat GPT is integrating perspectives and ideas from different thinkers, as well as differentiating between them to better understand their nuances. This is easily one of my favorite applications of AI.

Motivation

Napkin AI caught my eye because it generates interesting diagrams automatically from text input, making it highly flexible and easy to use. I’ve been looking for good concept mapping and knowledge mapping software, and this seemed like a reasonable place to start.

Goal

This article is the first in a series where I will explore different methods of examining, integrating, and visualizing complex ideas and perspectives. Although I’ve now moved on to creating my own tool, experimenting with Napkin AI was an important first step. In this series, I will document the journey that will involve exploring some of the tools out there, making new ones easy to use, and sharing my experiences.

The Process

1. Setting up the Prompt

After some basic setup, Napkin AI asked me for a prompt. I started with something I happened to be exploring at the time:

“The most unique insights from Alan Watts”

It generated some basic information, maybe about as powerful as Chat GPT-4. I previewed a few diagrams and then decided to challenge it further:

“The most unique insights from Alan Watts, Robert M. Pirsig, Spinoza, and Marcus Aurelius, emphasizing their overlaps with each other and their detailed underpinnings in very specific ideas from philosophy, science, and psychology, organized into practical frameworks and the logical progression towards such frameworks.”

The results were geared more towards the process of creating a framework, which in a broad sense is great, but I wanted it to go further. It was easy enough to start a new Napkin and change a few words of the prompt to focus more on building what I wanted:

… organized into a single practical step by step iterative framework.

2. Creating and Customizing Visuals

There are a number of templates to choose from, and a few styles. The content of each choice varied slightly, sometimes going into different levels of detail, reflecting the format of the diagram.

I selected the diagram template I felt suited each section best. I tended to prefer a few of the templates that were best suited for this project, but I opted towards a balance between consistency and variety. Here are a few:

3. Publishing the Output

Upon completing each document, I exported them as PDFs. Find them here.

Reflections and Applications

I am definitely glad I went ahead with this tool. What I created is not the type of concept map I was looking for, but it did help me visualize complex topics. It even helped me integrate them into practical frameworks with its Draft with AI option, although you can also start a blank document and provide your own text. If you want to edit the document or add your own images, that’s just as easy.

I imagine this could be used in a wide variety of presentational contexts, including business, education, personal growth, and content creation. It empowers individual creators to turn complex ideas into practical frameworks, supporting innovation and growth. Most importantly, it creates powerful diagrams that can be highly useful for business communications and strategy development.

Next Steps

This was a great beginning, but I have more to share. Aside from using other tools for diagramming, I am developing a custom tool tailored to better integrate and visualize complex ideas, including the detailed relationships between their components. This series will cover those journeys. Stay tuned!

Resources

• Napkin AI
• Concept Maps and Diagrams | GitHub repository

All images made by author in Napkin AI