Have you ever talked to yourself while solving a hard problem?
Or made a list to remember important things instead of trying to keep them all in your head?
These are examples of externalization – taking what’s in our minds and putting it into the outside world where we can see, hear, or touch it.
Externalization means taking thoughts, ideas, or information out of our heads and putting them into a form we can interact with in the real world.
It’s like turning the invisible thoughts in our minds into visible things we can work with, just like an artist turns their imagination into a painting.
There are three main ways to externalize:
Let’s explore how externalization helps in various systems:
Externalization helps us:
Think Clearly: See our thoughts more obviously
Remember Better: Keep track of important things
Solve Problems: Work through challenges step by step
Share Ideas: Communicate with others more effectively
Learn Faster: Understand concepts more deeply
When we externalize well:
Remember, externalization is like giving your brain extra help by turning thoughts into things you can see, hear, or touch. Just like how writing down a shopping list helps you remember what to buy better than trying to keep it all in your head, good externalization makes thinking, learning, and problem-solving easier and more effective.
Arrival offers a fascinating exploration of externalization through linguist Louise Banks’ methodical efforts to communicate with beings whose language defies human comprehension.
Through her painstaking process of translating alien circular symbols into visual diagrams and patterns, students witness how making abstract concepts tangible can unlock hidden layers of meaning and understanding.
The film demonstrates externalization as Louise moves from simple pictograms to complex temporal maps, showing how rendering internal concepts into external forms allows us to analyze and manipulate ideas too complex to hold in mind alone.
As viewers follow her journey to grasp the aliens’ non-linear perception of time through increasingly sophisticated visual models, they learn how externalization can help bridge seemingly impossible gaps in understanding.
Through its thoughtful portrayal of first contact, the film shows why externalizing complex ideas becomes crucial for managing and communicating within systems that exceed our natural cognitive capabilities.
Verse 1:
Got a head full of ideas spinning round and round
Like a whirlpool of thoughts that’s pulling me down
But I’ve got a secret that helps me every day
When I take what’s inside and put it on display
Pre-Chorus:
So I write it down
Or say it out loud
Draw a picture now
Let these thoughts come out
Chorus:
Outside my mind
(Where I can find)
Everything becomes so clear
Outside my mind
(Now I can find)
All these thoughts I hold so dear
Like a map that shows the way
Or a list for shopping day
When you put it in the world
That’s when answers come unfurled
Outside my mind
Verse 2:
Talk it through like I’m teaching to a friend
Build a model with my own two hands
Make a chart to track how far I’ve come
Solve the puzzle piece by piece until it’s done
(Pre-Chorus)
(Chorus)
Bridge:
Some people use sticky notes
Some people draw in code
Some people talk to rubber ducks
(Hey, whatever works!)
There’s no wrong way to
Let your thoughts shine through
Just get them out somehow
And watch the magic now
Final Chorus:
Outside my mind
(Where I can find)
Everything becomes so clear
Outside my mind
(Now I can find)
All these thoughts I hold so dear
Like stars that light the way
Through the darkest day
When you put it in the world
That’s when wisdom comes unfurled
Outside my mind
Outro:
Write it, speak it, build it, share it
Watch your thoughts take flight and soar
When they’re not stuck in your head anymore
Remember, at QMAK, we don’t just teach; we empower. We don’t just inform; we inspire. We don’t just question; we act. Become a Gold Member, and let’s unlock your child’s full potential, one question at a time.