I am open sourcing my brain. You can clone it if you want

Nima Shokouhfar

A few years ago, I watched a YouTube video that completely shifted my perspective. The topic? Learn how to learn. It sparked a journey of discovery into how our minds absorb and retain information. From that moment, I became obsessed with exploring techniques that could optimize learning. Along the way, I dove into books like How to Build a Second Brain and took courses that enhanced my understanding of how we learn best.

One of the most transformative techniques I picked up was mind mapping. At first, I started using it for typical tasks like organizing ideas and improving visual learning. Here is the link to my very first mind map. Hehe… now look back at it. This looks ridiculous and such an amateur job.

I soon realized I could combine mind mapping with other powerful techniques like visual learning and retrieval practice, enhancing not just how I captured information, but also how I retained and applied it.

Over time, I started using mind maps to document more practical things — like logging how I solved a bug or tackled a coding challenge. Two years later, I now have hundreds of mind maps, all capturing nearly everything I’ve learned, every book I’ve read, and every problem I’ve faced. It’s like having a complete documentation of my brain’s internal knowledge base.

Recently, I faced a challenge that shifted my perspective once again. I decided to dive into freelancing, only to discover how fiercely competitive the market is. Employers are inundated with applications, and simply stating on paper that I was a “superman” wasn’t going to cut it. I needed a way to prove my skills and stand out.

Then, a light bulb went off: What if I open-sourced my mind maps for everyone to see? Instead of just telling recruiters what I knew, I could show them. That was my breakthrough. Why keep all this knowledge to myself when I could make it publicly available?

So, I started sharing my mind maps. At first, I uploaded around 20, mostly technical ones. Now you can check all my published mind maps here. But I have bigger plans — I’m gearing up to release hundreds more, covering everything I’ve learned over the last two years. Of course, I’ll be leaving out anything sensitive, but the idea is to open-source almost everything.

It’s exciting, right? Imagine someone using these mind maps to download my knowledge, my mindset, and literally clone my brain with the help of AI. The thought of sharing my entire learning journey with the world is both thrilling and surreal.

🎯 Want to create your own mind maps? I highly recommend using MindMeister — the tool that transformed my learning. Start your journey with a special offer through my affiliate link: 

If anyone decides to try this and use my mind maps in creative ways — maybe even training a large language model — I’d love to hear about it. Let’s see how far we can push the boundaries of sharing and replicating knowledge.

https://www.mindmeister.com/?r=1263879