TED2011
Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!
Filmed:
Readability: 5.2
1,509,775 views
Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension -- and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we're caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen.
Sunni Brown - Visualizer and gamestorming
In her book "Gamestorming," Sunni Brown shows how using art and games can empower serious problem-solving. Full bio
In her book "Gamestorming," Sunni Brown shows how using art and games can empower serious problem-solving. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
So I just want to tell you my story.
0
0
2000
00:17
I spend a lot of time
1
2000
2000
00:19
teaching adults how to use visual language
2
4000
2000
00:21
and doodling in the workplace.
3
6000
2000
00:23
And naturally, I encounter a lot of resistance,
4
8000
3000
00:26
because it's considered to be anti-intellectual
5
11000
3000
00:29
and counter to serious learning.
6
14000
2000
00:31
But I have a problem with that belief,
7
16000
2000
00:33
because I know that doodling has a profound impact
8
18000
3000
00:36
on the way that we can process information
9
21000
3000
00:39
and the way that we can solve problems.
10
24000
2000
00:41
So I was curious about why there was a disconnect
11
26000
3000
00:44
between the way our society perceives doodling
12
29000
2000
00:46
and the way that the reality is.
13
31000
2000
00:48
So I discovered some very interesting things.
14
33000
3000
00:51
For example, there's no such thing
15
36000
2000
00:53
as a flattering definition of a doodle.
16
38000
3000
00:56
In the 17th century, a doodle was a simpleton or a fool --
17
41000
3000
00:59
as in Yankee Doodle.
18
44000
2000
01:01
In the 18th century, it became a verb,
19
46000
2000
01:03
and it meant to swindle or ridicule or to make fun of someone.
20
48000
3000
01:06
In the 19th century, it was a corrupt politician.
21
51000
3000
01:09
And today, we have what is perhaps our most offensive definition,
22
54000
3000
01:12
at least to me, which is the following:
23
57000
2000
01:14
To doodle officially means
24
59000
2000
01:16
to dawdle,
25
61000
2000
01:18
to dilly dally, to monkey around,
26
63000
2000
01:20
to make meaningless marks,
27
65000
2000
01:22
to do something of little value, substance or import,
28
67000
3000
01:25
and -- my personal favorite --
29
70000
2000
01:27
to do nothing.
30
72000
2000
01:29
No wonder people are averse to doodling at work.
31
74000
3000
01:32
Doing nothing at work is akin to masturbating at work;
32
77000
2000
01:34
it's totally inappropriate.
33
79000
2000
01:36
(Laughter)
34
81000
2000
01:38
Additionally, I've heard horror stories
35
83000
2000
01:40
from people whose teachers scolded them, of course, for doodling in classrooms.
36
85000
3000
01:43
And they have bosses who scold them for doodling in the boardroom.
37
88000
3000
01:46
There is a powerful cultural norm against doodling
38
91000
3000
01:49
in settings in which we are supposed to learn something.
39
94000
3000
01:52
And unfortunately,
40
97000
2000
01:54
the press tends to reinforce this norm
41
99000
2000
01:56
when they're reporting on a doodling scene --
42
101000
2000
01:58
of an important person at a confirmation hearing and the like --
43
103000
3000
02:01
they typically use words like "discovered"
44
106000
2000
02:03
or "caught" or "found out,"
45
108000
2000
02:05
as if there's some sort of criminal act being committed.
46
110000
3000
02:08
And additionally, there is a psychological aversion to doodling --
47
113000
3000
02:11
thank you, Freud.
48
116000
2000
02:13
In the 1930s, Freud told us all
49
118000
2000
02:15
that you could analyze people's psyches
50
120000
2000
02:17
based on their doodles.
51
122000
2000
02:19
This is not accurate, but it did happen to Tony Blair
52
124000
2000
02:21
at the Davos Forum in 2005,
53
126000
2000
02:23
when his doodles were, of course, "discovered"
54
128000
3000
02:26
and he was labeled the following things.
55
131000
3000
02:29
Now it turned out to be Bill Gates' doodle.
56
134000
4000
02:33
(Laughter)
57
138000
2000
02:35
And Bill, if you're here, nobody thinks you're megalomaniacal.
58
140000
4000
02:39
But that does contribute
59
144000
2000
02:41
to people not wanting to share their doodles.
60
146000
2000
02:43
And here is the real deal. Here's what I believe.
61
148000
3000
02:46
I think that our culture
62
151000
2000
02:48
is so intensely focused on verbal information
63
153000
2000
02:50
that we're almost blinded to the value of doodling.
64
155000
3000
02:53
And I'm not comfortable with that.
65
158000
2000
02:55
And so because of that belief that I think needs to be burst,
66
160000
3000
02:58
I'm here to send us all hurtling back to the truth.
67
163000
2000
03:00
And here's the truth:
68
165000
2000
03:02
doodling is an incredibly powerful tool,
69
167000
2000
03:04
and it is a tool that we need to remember and to re-learn.
70
169000
3000
03:07
So here's a new definition for doodling.
71
172000
3000
03:10
And I hope there's someone in here from The Oxford English Dictionary,
72
175000
2000
03:12
because I want to talk to you later.
73
177000
2000
03:14
Here's the real definition:
74
179000
2000
03:16
Doodling is really to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think.
75
181000
3000
03:19
That is why millions of people doodle.
76
184000
3000
03:22
Here's another interesting truth about the doodle:
77
187000
2000
03:24
People who doodle when they're exposed to verbal information
78
189000
2000
03:26
retain more of that information
79
191000
2000
03:28
than their non-doodling counterparts.
80
193000
3000
03:31
We think doodling is something you do when you lose focus,
81
196000
2000
03:33
but in reality, it is a preemptive measure
82
198000
2000
03:35
to stop you from losing focus.
83
200000
3000
03:38
Additionally, it has a profound effect
84
203000
2000
03:40
on creative problem-solving
85
205000
2000
03:42
and deep information processing.
86
207000
2000
03:44
There are four ways that learners intake information
87
209000
2000
03:46
so that they can make decisions.
88
211000
2000
03:48
They are visual, auditory,
89
213000
3000
03:51
reading and writing and kinesthetic.
90
216000
3000
03:54
Now in order for us to really chew on information
91
219000
2000
03:56
and do something with it,
92
221000
2000
03:58
we have to engage at least two of those modalities,
93
223000
3000
04:01
or we have to engage one of those modalities
94
226000
2000
04:03
coupled with an emotional experience.
95
228000
2000
04:05
The incredible contribution of the doodle
96
230000
3000
04:08
is that it engages all four learning modalities simultaneously
97
233000
3000
04:11
with the possibility of an emotional experience.
98
236000
3000
04:14
That is a pretty solid contribution
99
239000
2000
04:16
for a behavior equated with doing nothing.
100
241000
3000
04:19
This is so nerdy,
101
244000
2000
04:21
but this made me cry when I discovered this.
102
246000
2000
04:23
So they did anthropological research
103
248000
2000
04:25
into the unfolding of artistic activity in children,
104
250000
3000
04:28
and they found that, across space and time,
105
253000
2000
04:30
all children exhibit the same evolution in visual logic
106
255000
3000
04:33
as they grow.
107
258000
2000
04:35
In other words, they have a shared and growing
108
260000
2000
04:37
complexity in visual language
109
262000
2000
04:39
that happens in a predictable order.
110
264000
2000
04:41
And I think that is incredible.
111
266000
2000
04:43
I think that means doodling is native to us
112
268000
2000
04:45
and we simply are denying ourselves that instinct.
113
270000
3000
04:49
And finally, a lot a people aren't privy to this,
114
274000
2000
04:51
but the doodle is a precursor
115
276000
2000
04:53
to some of our greatest cultural assets.
116
278000
2000
04:55
This is but one:
117
280000
2000
04:57
this is Frank Gehry the architect's precursor to the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi.
118
282000
3000
05:00
So here is my point:
119
285000
2000
05:02
Under no circumstances should doodling be eradicated
120
287000
3000
05:05
from a classroom or a boardroom
121
290000
2000
05:07
or even the war room.
122
292000
2000
05:09
On the contrary,
123
294000
2000
05:11
doodling should be leveraged in precisely those situations
124
296000
3000
05:14
where information density is very high
125
299000
2000
05:16
and the need for processing that information is very high.
126
301000
3000
05:19
And I will go you one further.
127
304000
2000
05:21
Because doodling is so universally accessible
128
306000
3000
05:24
and it is not intimidating as an art form,
129
309000
2000
05:26
it can be leveraged as a portal
130
311000
2000
05:28
through which we move people
131
313000
2000
05:30
into higher levels of visual literacy.
132
315000
3000
05:33
My friends, the doodle has never been
133
318000
2000
05:35
the nemesis of intellectual thought.
134
320000
2000
05:37
In reality, it is one of its greatest allies.
135
322000
2000
05:39
Thank you.
136
324000
2000
05:41
(Applause)
137
326000
3000
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sunni Brown - Visualizer and gamestormingIn her book "Gamestorming," Sunni Brown shows how using art and games can empower serious problem-solving.
Why you should listen
Sunni Brown is co-author of GameStorming: A Playbook for Rule-breakers, Innovators and Changemakers. She’s known for her large-scale live content visualizations, and she is also the leader of the Doodle Revolution – a growing effort to debunk the myth that doodling is a distraction. Using common sense, experience and neuroscience, Sunni is proving that to doodle is to ignite your whole mind. Look for her second book, The Doodle Revolution, in 2012.
Her consultancy, BrightSpot I.D., specializes in visual thinking and information design. She was trained in graphic facilitation at the Grove Consultants International, a San Francisco-based company that pioneered the use of large-scale visuals in business settings. Sunni co-founded VizThink Austin, which under her leadership grew to be the largest visual thinking community in the United States.
Sunni Brown | Speaker | TED.com