I've used FreeMind for years for programming, for writing, for planning. It's a great tool (as are many mind-mapping products) for design and for building up in

I've used FreeMind for years for programming, for writing, for planning. It's a great tool (as are many mind-mapping products) for design and for building up information in an organized way. However, the model has limitations not mentioned here. The primary on is that it is an inherently hierarchical way of categorizing data. It's not possible to put the same entry under two different branches or to create a link between them (at least not in the products I've seen). Ironically, in the video the OP admires that you can "link" population trends and literacy by having them in the same mind map. But the only link is the human one creating by manually clicking on the different branches where the info is stored. There is no actual linkage between the items. That being said, hierarchical is in many ways an excellent system for lots of purposes, including some software design, and definitely in laying out articles and documents.