One of the incredible abilities of the human mind is that it can discern purpose, create meaning, and learn by relating new things to what it already knows.  But from where does this meaning come?  Is it something we “make up” or something discovered?  The ability to make connections, to understand ideas is powerful.  And as we study the brain, we find that these acts of the mind require at least three separate areas in the brain all working together.

Information designer Tom Wujec talks through three areas of the brain that help us understand words, images, feelings, connections. In this short talk from TEDU, he asks: How can we best engage our brains to help us better understand big ideas?  Tom Wujec studies how we share and absorb information. He’s an innovative practitioner of business visualization — using design and technology to help groups solve problems and understand ideas. He is a Fellow at Autodesk.  Consider with him three ways the brain creates meaning.