Personally, I find the idea of concept mapping to be much more 'useful' than mind mapping as I don't like having 1 big idea stuck in the middle of a map. However, to organize your thoughts in a not strictly linear format, there are worse ways than mind maps.
Also, having the ability to expand/collapse branches of the tree make it fairly useful for organization of projects or for GTD systems. This is not something easily mimicked with other note taking/text tools.
Also, having the ability to expand/collapse branches of the tree make it fairly useful for organization of projects or for GTD systems. This is not something easily mimicked with other note taking/text tools.