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HERNAN MURUA 2019

Lateral Thinking

A process aproach

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Lateral Thinking A process approach

Life has a lot of problems. Everybody can remember a problem at work were weeks or even years were spent living with the problem until someone came with an amazing idea that changed everything. That is the history of the wheel , writing, zero, airplane, computer , iPod… Problem solving seems something of geniuses that live their life in a constant flow of new ideas and creation. For the rest of us it is a wishful thinking to be like that…, or not. Think when was the last time you came home and there was almost nothing to eat, but you managed to have a pasta with meat out of a ramen, tomato sauce and hot dogs, Or when you got out of that traffic jam and you saved the day by finding a shortcut and arriving in time. We all do that every single day and that is the same source out of which those grate revolutionaries drink of. What those individuals do is learning how to give different answers to old problems, there are many tools for that, but tools are useless if you do not know how to use them. And that is the point of lateral thinking, it is the instruction booklet that allows us to use thinking tools better. Lets start the journey!

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Lateral thinking happening

Lateral thinking as a process. 03

The Th… word

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Thinking the other direction 01 1 What is lateral Thinking

Lateral and vertical thinking are the two complementay patterns of thinking. Vertical thinking is more well known , we will compare both to understand lateral thinking

2 The thinkig problem Thinking is not na idea, it is not a destination, thinking is a process, it is the journey. Failing to understand that is the reason of most wrong belief about thinking

3 The Lateral Thinking theory and praxis Now that we understand lateral thinking we can theorise on the process of lateral thinking, this leads us to be able to find ways of learning and then practice lateral thinking.

Here we Introduce the LTC – Lateral Thinkign Canvas

A fast interlude- IS LATERAL THINKING NECESSARY FOR CREATIVITY?

4 Using lateral thinking

Some examples can clarify a lot, As a matter of fact in a very Aristotelic way de Bono propose that the best path to understand lateral thinking is by using it.

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Interlude- criticism

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1 What is lateral Thinking Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. The term was coined in 1967 by Edward de Bono.

Thinking is a process , that in the vision of Bono , can be divided in two complementary

approaches

One is what we traditionally call reasoning, vertical, direct,

convergent: it is based on hypothesis and conclusions

The other is what de Bono called lateral, horizontal or divergent

thinking: based on alternative generation.

Lateral Thinking brings the idea that, beside linear

progression towards a solution, thinking also need to side-step and create as many options

and pathways as possible.

Lateral thinking is also called ideation, divergent or abstractive thinking. It is

characterized by:

· a generative, probabilistic process that opens new path and options

· a process that moves for the sake of moving

· a realization that movement and change are what matter

· a realization that movement increases the chances of a maximum solution

· continued movement even after a viable solution has been found

Start System Result

Result 1

Path Result 2

Other path

Dife

rent result

A totally strannge path

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· movements that do not have to be

sequential, right, or self-supporting

· intrusions and irrelevance

· a definite process that has indefinite

outcomes .

Thinking Convergent

(vertical) Divergent (lateral)

1. Take a position 1. Consider positions 2.Develop arguments which are •Related to 1 •Derived from 1

2.Put forward different views which are; • not derived from each other • not all correct • not all co-existing

3.Areas of focus •Truth •Logic •What is

3. Areas of focus •Possibilities •Alternatives •What might be

Searches dichotomy TRUE X FALSE

Creates value ALTERNATIVES

Result (idea4)

idea3

idea2idea1

idea 1

idea 2

idea 3

idea n

idea p

What is the central question in lateral thinking? Lateral thinking was developed by Edward de Bono in response to the following question: Why do some people always seem to be having new ideas while others of equal intelligence never do?

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2 The thinking problem AN OVERVIEW ON THINKING. Piaget used to say that

intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do.

If someone is good in finding the only right answer to a multiple

choice question, you are smart , being intelligent is more than

that – there is a creative aspect ( W. H. Calvin – How the brain

thinks)

Thinking is a concept that can be understood, in a general sense as including "all intelligent

cognitive activities" (Ericsson and Hastie, 1994, p. 37), or "everything between perception

and action" (Johnson-Laird, 1993, p. xi).

We can also define it as a mechanism for knowledge acquisition, a process that creates

knowledge from which

already exists. This

acquisition mechanism

means that it is the

result of intellectual

abilities such as

reasoning. A widely

accepted idea defines

the thought as all

intellectual ability that

will allow us to achieve

the desired results in

the most effective way.

In a less broad sense, we can equate it to any activity of reasoning, decision making or

problem solving (Ericsson and Hastie, 1994).

The biggest enemy of thinking is the feeling 'that our thinking is pretty good anyway and we

do not have to do anything about it."'

Edward de Bono in Thinking Course,

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Thinking and Ideas

The major distinction here is between thinking and

ideas:

Thinking is a process it is a path from one

point to another

Ideas are results of a thinking process, are

states, starting or ending points.

So it is a common mistake to believe that all you need

is to create ideas, the idea birth depends on the

thinking process, so don’t try to learn how to have

ideas, what you need is to learn how to think, which

will allow you to understand your ideas and lead you

to new ones.

The Way that brain thinks

The brain can be considered a special channel through which information flows-where the

information comes in as data, evidence, or appreciation of a situation, and goes out as action,

choice, decision, reaction, problem solving, and so on. The brain is a device for changing the

nature of information and the process of change is called thinking.

Thinking is the operating skill through which innate intelligence is put into action. It is also the

operating skill through which intelligence acts upon experience for a purpose. To do that it

has to select and organize

A mind is a computing system and thinking is a process of knowledge acquisition, achieved

by skills like reasoning, problem solving or decision-making.

That process happens in a physical environment. Therefore, it has the restrictions of those.

1. It is communication based: so depends of the communication theory

2. It is sequential and surface based : so it depends on the order in which reason is

made

Each aspect is essential to understand thinking

idea

idea

idea

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Operation of the mind

Any computing system depends

on

A logic of operation

A language of

communication

A memory device

The logic of operation implies the

weight of any idea and the

sequence of operation.

The language (in a lexical view) is

the intrinsic value of the inputs

and outputs

The memory is the support to concatenate ideas.

In the same way that to speak a language you must have a vocabulary that will be wrong in

another language thinking implies limitations. Such limitations are inseparable from the great

advantages, since both factors, limitations and advantages, have their origin in the very nature

of the system. It would be impossible to have the advantages without the disadvantages.

Thinking lateral is an attempt to compensate for this limitation without impairment of benefits.

Logical Operation

Logical thinking is the process in which one uses reasoning consistently to come to a

conclusion. Problems or situations that involve logical thinking call for structure, for

relationships between facts, and for chains of reasoning that “make sense.”

In his book Brain Building, Dr. Karl Albrecht says that the basis of all logical thinking is

sequential thought. This process involves taking the important ideas, facts, and conclusions

involved in a problem and arranging them in a chain-like progression that takes on a meaning

in and of itself. To think logically is to think in steps.

Communication and Information

Thinking requires communication both external and internal. That communication has to be

codified.

Memory

Language

Logic

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Codified communication is the transfer of information. If you would like to order the execution

of a certain task, they could give detailed instructions of how to carry it out. This would

constitute an effective procedure of communication, but would require a lot of time. Instead,

say simply «carry out the task n. ». This short sentence could replace or signify a long

instruction.

Communication by means of codes requires the composition of models in which is housed

the information, which can be identified by its title and connect to its contents.

Communication is usually a double process: on the one hand, someone tries to send a

message; on the other hand, someone tries to understand it.

Communication by codes requires the existence of a management of information on specific

models defined.

Simplest model of communication reflects the work of Shannon and Weaver. It consists of a

sender, a message, a channel where the message travels, noise or interference and a

receiver.

The Shanon model of communication shows a source of a message that encodes in a

language, passes through a channel, where, for practical reasons we consider that is all the

noise (meaning the alteration in the message from its intended emission to its desired

reception). The channel discharges in a decoder that translate the message to the receiver.

On top of that, the model is reciprocal, meaning that the impression on the receiver generates

a response that undergoes the same

path and have the parts source and

receiver changing roles.

Those channels are filters that

organize and select communication.

That selection is useful, but is also

limiting, that is the point of entrance

of lateral thinking

Another approach is the Harold D. Lasswell communication model created not too long after

the Shannon Weaver The big difference between the two is that Lasswell’s model studies

mass communication, as opposed to a simple two-person conversation.

•Source

message

•encoder

message•NOISE

•Channel

Mesage

•Decoder

message•Receiver

messge

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Simply put, the Lasswell model asks a series of questions: Who said what? What channel did

they use? Who did the message reach? What effect did it have?

The point of this model is to analyze the effect a message can have on a large group of people

and to see how each part of the model can make a difference. This is done by diving into each

part with a different type of analysis. It includes the ideas of .

Control analysis looks at who said the message.

The message itself is evaluated using content analysis.

Media analysis focuses on the communication channel used to send the message.

Audience analysis looks at whomever the message is being sent to.

The end of the model shows effect analysis, but this actually happens at the beginning

of the process.

When sending a message, whether we think about it or not, there is a desired effect. Whether

it be to get a response or for the receiver to change a behavior, all messages have a purpose.

Moreover, before we even send them, we consider the effect of the message in one way or

another. It just does not appear until after the message is received.

So communication implies a message and that message answers to questions.

The straight way it happens is usually the best for repetition, if that is what is needed, but the

same process of communication can be used to generate information, if the message is not

understood.

Hence, an organized communication flow is convergent, explanatory and allows for

convergent thinking, whereas an open system is divergent, so generative an connected to

lateral thinking.

Memories, models and the surface concept

The mind is an information system that works on the base of models

Models appear for further identification and use. The configuration of these models is based

on the particular behavior of the cells

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To allow effective communication it is not so important that models have a correct

configuration, that they are easily identifiable use , what is important is that is predictable

So the Organization is that of an automated system of information on file,

On the other hand, the human mind was created by an evolutive process and not based on

a process of management of information, but that this is automatically

incorporated into the already established models either way new

models. The mind is simply the way in which such incorporation takes

place. You can call this receiving environment surface memory, whose

physiological characteristics are beyond the purpose of this work, but

whose function is the raison d ' être of lateral thinking.

What the mind organizes are ideas that are stored in memory devices.

A memory device is a recording device. The record may be more or less permanent or only

transitional. The information that comes to mind is reflected on the surface of the memory,

whose nerve cells reflect experienced alterations.

Similarly, it can be considered a landscape. All landscape settings reflect the effect of the

action of surface waters and other geological factors of erosion. Rainfall water forms tiny

streams that then converge into streams and rivers or quiet power. When it has forma-do

hydrographic model. Traces tend to become more profound and permanent. The active factor

of this transformation is the erosive and corrosive action of the water: soil is a passive factor:

influence direction of erosion intensity c according to their own characteristics. but it does not

act in strictly active sense.

The information models that are structured in the mind depend on the nature of data and the

sequence of its incidence. Mind provides an environment for the self-organization of

information on defined models.

Memory as a skill is the ability to encode, store and recall information.

The three main processes involved in human memory are

encoding, storage and recall (retrieval).

Limited receiving characteristic

Fundamental in the memory process of an automatic information

organization system is the limit of its receiving capacity.

This limitation is important because it means that the selected area

is restricted to a single point determined by the receiving propensity

of the brain .

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There is a very well developed theory field of theory of constraints in manufacturing products

that state two principles that are applicable here

The performance of the system as a whole is limited by the

output of the tightest bottleneck or most limiting constraint.

then the only way to improve the overall performance of the

system is to improve the output at the bottleneck

This area of greater receiving capability model is that has received more impressions. Thus

the mind develops a series of models that are relied upon codified communication. As

consequence of the boundary of its receiving capacity the area of memory from the mind

tends to adopt a process of optimization in which the functions of selection rejection,

combination and separation of the input data give the mind a great capacity of planning and

calculation.

That leads to area specialization in the brain as exemplified in

the figure. It must be clear that , aside from some very specific

functions that all parts are linked so rarely you have a major

physical region, rather you have many small associated regions

O the other hand the brain is plastic , so it changes the use of

areas and the connections, that is important as it allows for

changing in thinking.

It all happens in the surface of contact of neurons , so it is a 2D

and ordered phenomenon : new inputs come after old ones.

As a bidemnsional array the information is proportional to the

area , such as a black hole.

Juan Linde Domingo, lead author of a study at Birmigham University. Says that "Memory is a

reconstructive process, biased by personal knowledge

and world views -- sometimes we even remember events

that never actually happened. But exactly how memories

are reconstructed in the brain, step by step, is currently

not well understood.

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Archetypes and model structure

The need for restructuring of the models in a given phase to allow for the inclusion of a new

item is a feature of the system of optimization that is the mind. The information that comes to

the surface of the mind memory is available at every stage in the most appropriate manner

(more stable. in physiological terms).

The mind manages information effectively, it generates a model, compares it with the reality

it understands with great advantages inherent to their method of operation: However, it has

also some limitations, mainly the difficulty to restructure their ideas in response to new models

information.

The mind is a system producer of archetypal models. The role of lateral thinking is to

overcome all these inherent limitations of logical thinking through the restructuring of the

models the avoidance of the influence of the archetypes ordering information on new ideas.

In order to perform its function, lateral thinking uses the properties of the system; for example,

the use of words randomly selected may be effective only in the context of a system of

optimization. Equally techniques of disintegration of the models are useful to automatic

restructuring the available Information.

Experience and perception

Since knowing is sequential we understand as a

function of how we receive the information;

Experience shapes perception.

Perception is the way we look at things.

Processing in the mind is what we do with that

perception. In processing perceptions, mental patterns are formed, then they become order

dependant.

Mental Patterns

A mental pattern is: (1) "Where any state is preferentially followed by another state," and (2)

". .. where items of information hang together and so give an expectancy."' While defining a

pattern is difficult, illustrating one is not.

Processing in the mind is what we do with that perception. In processing perceptions, mental

patterns are formed.

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A mental pattern is: (1) "Where any state is preferentially followed by another state," and (2)

". .. where items of information hang together and so give an expectancy."' While defining a

pattern is difficult, illustrating one is not.

Patterns have two characteristics:

expectation and

continuity.

Expectation is what makes the mind look for patterns. It is the supposition form where patterns

rise.

Continuity is the basic feature of a pattern system like the mind. Once a pattern is formed, the

mind no longer has to analyze or sort information. All that is required is enough information to

trigger the pattern. The mind then follows along the pattern automatically, in much the same

way a driver follows a familiar road. In addition to being repeatable and giving rise to

expectations, patterns are also recognizable.

Patterns have many advantages. Perhaps chief among these

is that they enable us to react quickly to fragments of

information without having to establish complete cause and

effect relationships. It allows us to anticipate what will follow. In

this anticipation, however, also lies the danger of patterns.

Once a pattern emerges, the tendency is for that pattern to

continue and to become even more firmly established.

A patterning system functions on the assumption that things in the future will continue to be

as they have been in the past! In addition, anything (data, information, perceptions, etc.)

remotely similar to an established pattern will be treated just as if it were that pattern, unless

there are competing patterns. Patterns, sometimes called maps, cause a dilemma. the

dilemma is that a person poorly equipped with a repertoire of patterns will be unable to look

at data in a meaningful way, whereas a person well equipped with patterns tends to be unable

to look at data in a new way.

Method of thinking

To appreciate why we think the way we do and why that method of thinking by itself is

inadequate, we need to:

(1) understand logical or "vertical thinking,"

(2) be aware that it is the predominate method of thinking,

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Logical/vertical thinking is a "yes" or "no" system (i.e., an idea is either absolutely right or

absolutely wrong), it tends to reject new ideas, because most new ideas are incomplete thus

unable to pass the teste. Most of our so called "reason," therefore, consists of finding reasons

to go on believing as we already do.

A grate part of it deals with syllogisms , conclusions that are already in the premises, only in

a hidden way.

Vertical thinking uses two building blocs

Deduction

Induction

The typical vertical deduction is the logical equation

If P then Q

If Q then R So if P then R

In that case R is already implied in P , thinking is only linking by finding Q.

A little bit more open is induction

In this case

Usually when P then Q

Usually when Q then R So expectedly when P then R

Again R is implied in P , but now in a should be because other possibilities are excluded.

To change our view of a problem requires a change in our perspective on the problem being

considered.

It is as

I have P . where can I go from there

To Q, no Q

To R , no R

To T , no T

To something

To no P

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So in restrictive thinking we have

syllogism and analogies but they are

based on alternative elimination.

In expansive thinking the focus is in

alternative generation.

Comparing expansive and restrictive thinking

THINKING

RE

ST

RIC

TIV

E Deductive

Silogistic

Inductive

Analogistic

DIS

PE

RS

IVE

Expansive

Antagonistic

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The vertical thinking is selective; lateral thinking is creator

Vertical thinking matter first and foremost the concatenation logical correction of the

ideas. On the other hand, in lateral thinking what is essential is the effectiveness itself of the

conclusions. Vertical thought selects a path through the exclusion of others roads and

forks. Lateral thinking not selected roads, but it is of follow all the paths and find new

directions. Vertical thinking is selects the most promising approach to solving a problem; in

thinking side is seeking new approaches and explores the possibilities of all of them.

Vertical thinking moves only if there is an address that move; thinking

lateral moves to create an address

Vertical thinking moves in a direction clearly defined which is I glimpsed a solution. It is used

for this specific approach and technique. In the lateral thinking aims to change and

movement as a means for a restructuring of concepts models.

Not necessarily should always move toward something; the movement can also be

estrangement on that something. What matters is the movement itself, the change. With

lateral thinking do not follow a particular direction, but it is generated an address.

Vertical thinking refers an experiment to express some effect. Lateral thinking refers an

experiment to lead to a change of ideas. With vertical thinking one has that always move in

any direction. With lateral thinking can wander without address, i.e., wander around

experiments, models, ideas, etc

Vertical thought is most obvious roads; lateral thinking at least obvious

Lateral thinking deliberately seeks the least obvious in-jibs. This proceeding constitutes a

basic principle and loyalty to it is often the only reason explore a path. on the other

hand. lacks-ria's interest and that. However It can eventually lead to a valuable

solution. Sometimes, at the entrance of such way

nothing indicates that it worth exploring it and,

however, can lead to something useful.

Vertical thinking tends to follow the more

spacious road and signposted as the right

direction.

Vertical thought is a finite process: lateral

thinking, a probabilistic process

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Vertical thought commits to reach a solution; with the stripping to side does not necessarily

guarantee a solution, simply increase the chances of an optimal solution through the

restructuring of the models. I.e., the thinking view offers at least one minimal, while lateral

thinking solution increases the possibility of reaching a better solution.

Complementary nature

Lateral thinking and vertical thinking are complementary. It is lateral thinking which enables

us to generate new ideas and new alternatives; it is vertical thinking which enables us to act

on these new ideas and alternatives.

The possibility of obtain an optimal solution, sometimes superior to the solution of logical

restrictive thinking is the factor that it gives the lateral thinking its value. On every occasion to

vertical thinking is unable to process a solution, it has to resort to lateral thinking side to try to

achieve

Overview

The differences between vertical thinking and lateral thinking are basic. Its respective

performance is completely different. It is not to decide what is more effective, since both are

needed, and complement each other. What matters is a perfect with-science of their

differences to facilitate the

application of both. Vertical

thinking information is used

with its intrinsic value, to

eventually reach a solution

through its inclusion in

existing models. In lateral

thinking information is used

not as an end, but only as a

means to provoke a

disintegration of the models

and their subsequent

automatic restructuring in

new ideas

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3 The Lateral Thinking theory and praxis

LATERAL THINKING THEORY The brain is a very energy

consuming organ, playing a chess match can consume as

many calories as a soccer one. Because of that its function of

thinking evolved to optimize this energy expenditure, since eating is

one of the more basic needs of any being. That led to a way of

thinking that is full of short cuts and simplifications that usually work

The basic theoretical premise behind lateral thinking is known

as pattern changing. People love to look for and follow patterns

because they are predictable and sometimes explainable, and

therefore comforting as a result. Our mind loves to find

connections between things, even if they aren't really there.

The corresponding fundamental principle is that any particular

way of looking at things is only one among many.

Robert Sapolsky, a noted evolutionary biologist, has observed that not just humans but most

animal species have a similar strong tendency to stay with patterns of behavior (e.g. hunting,

mating, interacting) that have worked in the past. (Interview with Robert Krulwich, August 16,

2006) It’s hard to change. Jared Diamond’s book, Collapse, notes how entire communities

failed and became extinct because they tried to follow previously successful and sustaining

strategies in farming in a different environment. Ironically, success can be more debilitating

than failure. Failure obligates different thinking; success can lull one into thinking he or she

has it all figured out.

Lateral thinking is all about changing patterns. Instead of looking at some sort of pattern and

then moving forward with that pattern, step by step, lateral thinking either restructures old

patterns or comes up with completely new ideas altogether.

Another important premise behind lateral thinking is attitude Lateral thinking is as much

about restructuring our attitudes as it is about changing old patterns. A good lateral thinking

While the brain represents just 2% of a person's total body weight, it accounts for 20% of the body's energy use, Raichle's research has found. That means during a typical day, a person uses about 320 calories just to think.

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attitude is accepting that patterned ways of looking at things or doings things can be useful;

it's not about disregarding them outright. However, lateral thinking

is also about having the attitude that an old structured way is not

necessarily an absolute, nor is it necessarily unique. In other

words, other (potentially better) alternatives may be possible. That

is the mindset of a lateral thinker!

Another critical aspect of the theory behind lateral thinking is forward thinking. That is to

say, lateral thinking is not about the analysis of the events that led up to the current point in

order to figure out if the current point is where you want to be. Lateral thinkers do not look

back to justify what has led them to where they are. Instead, they look forward. Instead of

analyzing a past event, they focus on the information they have in hand and the effect this

information may have in determining a future outcome.

Often trying to think harder in the same direction may not be as useful as changing

direction. Effort in the same direction will not necessarily help you achieve your goal. Lateral

thinking deliberately distances itself from "vertical" or logical thinking (the classic method for

problem solving: working out the solution step-by-step from the given data) or "horizontal"

imagination (having many ideas but being unconcerned with the detailed implementation of

them by deferring judgement).

Lateral thinking is abstractionist; it

abstracts all the non-essential parts of the

problem and even diverges out of the

problem, criticizing not only the solutions,

but also the path and the proposition itself.

An example are subway maps, like this of

Berlin subway, the acual net is the one on

the right, the much easier to undertand is the abstact one on the left.

Abstract information present it on bases of what is needed not on the real complete situation

What Are Lateral Thinking Techniques?

"You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper".

Edward de Bono

General agreement os not necessary a suficient argument for validity.

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Lateral thinking is concerned with the generation of new ideas… It leads to changes in

attitude and approach De Bono describes lateral thinking as ‘a habit of mind and an attitude

of mind’ which can be fostered by practising specific lateral thinking techniques, such as:

Challenging assumptions

generating alternatives (even when you have an apparently satisfactory solution)

suspended judgement

brainstorming

analogies

random stimulation It is a processes that provides a deliberate, systematic way of

thinking creatively that results in innovative thinking in a repeatable manner. While

critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of statements and

seeking errors. Lateral thinking is more concerned with the "movement value" of

statements and ideas. A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to

creating new ideas.

We can divide those Lateral thinking tools in three main categories:

Idea-generating tools which break free your current thinking patterns from their usual pathways.

Focus tools that search the limitations created by the order in which we think. Harvest and Treatment tools that help maximize value is received from the idea

generating output and make them fit the real world constraints.

Lateral Thinking Techniques

Lateral thinking techniques provide a deliberate, systematic process that results in

innovative thinking enables you to find creative solutions that you

may otherwise not consider.

Below are seven techniques to help you elicit creative ideas that can be both novel and

useful solutions to a problem.

1. Alternatives

2. Focus: Entry point and attention area

3. Challenge

4. Random Entry

5. suspended judgement

6. Provocation and Movement

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7. Harvesting and Treatment of Ideas

8, Brainstorming

Lateral Thinking Techniques Explained

Alternatives: Use concepts to breed new ideas

Those techniques are about using concepts as a breeding ground for new ideas. Concepts

are general theories or ways of doing things. By thinking of a variety of ways to implement a

concept is one way to generate ideas.

You can then further assessed each specific idea to generate additional concepts.

Establishing a new concept creates a whole new way for generating more ideas

Use process to have new ideas, reverse chance direction or logical process.

Questions are basic for generating alternatives. Anthony Jay a manager trainer says that

`the uncreative mind can spot wrong answers but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong

question. Wrong questions shut down lateral thinking.

Focus: Entry point and attention area :change your observation point to improve your

creative efforts

These techniques are about learning when and how to change your focus to improve your

creative efforts. You can learn to focus on areas that other

people have not bothered to think about. Doing so may lead

you to a breakthrough idea simply because you are the first

person to pay any attention to that area.

Attention point refers to the part of the situation or problem that

is attended to

Entry point is the part of that problem that is firs attended to

Since thinking is sequential we have to actively challenge what we look at and from which

standpoint we do it.

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If we can convert a vague awareness’ into a pattern we can

use that to generate new patterns.

Those ideas generally depend on dominant ideas and crucial

factors.

Dominant ideas are ideas that organize a situation

Crucial factors are assumptions that guide thinking

Challenge: Break free from the limits of accepted ways of doing things

Challenge technique is about breaking free from

the limits of traditional thinking and the accepted

ways of doing things. It is based on the

assumption that there may be a different and

better way to do something even if there is no

apparent problem with the current way.

Analogies: are means of challenging ideas by

comparing certain aspects of other ideas.

Analogies do not have to be exact all the way,

they have to work in one aspect of the problem,

as a consequence they are usually limited, and we require many analogies to cover an idea.

Categories: are a great part of our thinking process as we said, so in one side they are fixing

and being the think we challenge, yet due to the complementary need of both thinking ways,

we need to detect and create new patterns.

Random Entry: Use unconnected input to open new lines of thinking

Random Entry techniques is about using unconnected

input to open up new lines of thinking. This technique

draws on your mind to find connections between

seemingly unrelated things. With this techniques, you can

use a randomly chosen word, picture, sound, or other

stimulus to open new lines of thinking.

Think about a normal door., the door itself is a Dominant idea, the hinges are the crucial factors.

Lateral thinking are sliding doors (changing cucial factors) or open space (changing dominat ideas)

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Random stimulation works because the mind functions as a self maximizing memory

system with limited and coherent attention span so it will force a connection.

To generate random entries, we require exposure to inputs and a formal use of them, that

coerces the mind to have an answer.

Suspended Judgement

Suspended jugement is part of the harvesting of ideas, it is the concept of not judging an idea . With

convergent thinking we are used to roll out unreasonable ideas, that

is one of the main points that deters divergent thinking, we have to

postpone any judgement to a later moment, because the idea may:

Have useful parts

Be presented in a non useful order amongs others, but be

actually better

Be a good starting point for really useful ideas

Lateral thinking is concerned with change , not with proofing.

Provocation and Movement

Provocation is about generating provoking thoughts and using them to build new ideas. It is

a process that enables you to think outside the box in order to get a compelling list of

innovative ideas to consider.

A part of this tool can be even creating a new word PO (provocative observation) which

reacts to the YES/NO dichotomy.

PO (verb)

PO (object)

PO (subject)

Is a way of asking for alternatives.

Harvesting and Treatment of Ideas :: Select the best ideas and shape them into practical

solutions Strengthen and shape ideas to fit an organization or situation

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Harvesting techniques involves selecting specific ideas that seem practical and have the

most value then reshaping them into

practical solutions. It is about turning starter

ideas into workable ideas. This technique is

done toward the end of a thinking session in

order to select ideas that may prove to be

valuable in the current situation or in the future. Harvesting helps you identify ideas that

could be implemented right away as well as those that may need more work.

Treatment of Ideas involves shaping and

strengthening ideas so they best fit a given

organization or situation.

The treatment technique is best for working with

starter ideas to make them more specific and

practical for a given situation. For example, you may

think of some constraints that might interfere with the

execution of an idea, so you shape or restructure the

idea to fit within the constraints.

Brainstorming

Brainstorm is a composed tool, it is actually a formal setting for lateral thinking.

Once you begin generating items on a checklist and imaginative what ifs, you naturally

begin a process we call brainstorming.

The concept of brainstorming originated

with Alex Osborn, author of Applied

Imagination, and founder of the

advertising firm of Batten, Barten,

Durstine and Osborn, as a method to

generate options. It is a universal idea

generating technique that can be employed by either groups or individuals.

Alex F Osborn (1979) considered the creator of the brainstorm credited the origin of the

process to Hindu teachers in India, who have used the method of Prai- (outside yourself)

Barshana (question) for over 400 years. During such a session, there is no discussion or

criticism; evaluation of ideas takes place at later meetings of the same group

Osborn, setting suggests four requirements of brainstorming

Fractionation and reductionism

Fractionation is the idea of breaking a process, problem or idea in parts

It is the base of reductionism but is not limited to it. Reductionism considers logical parts and entry points that are by themselves a unit.

Reductionism implies in dividing in any useful form, only one of them is the recutionism.

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1) Defer judgement

2) Think freely: encourage bolderness

3) Combine and harness ideas

4) Go for Quantity

Brainstorming can be used to generate possible solutions for simple problems, but it is

unrealistic to expect it to accomplish most problem-solving or planning tasks. The technique

is of value as part of a larger effort that includes individual generation of information and ideas

and subsequent compilation, evaluation, and selection.

Brainstorming can be used to generate components of a plan, process, solution, or approach

and to produce checklists.

The key to the success of the process is that no evaluation or judgment is made of the ideas

as they are being generated. Because of this, creativity is not stifled, it is increased. The

objective is to generate as many ideas related to the specific topic or question as possible.

Studies have shown that the ideas generated by the group tend to get better as the group

gets warmed up.

The value of the process is that more good ideas are produced in less time than would be

produced in a typical meeting or conference. Discussion, evaluation, and selection occur at a

later time.

Guidelines for effective brainstorming:

1) Identify the essence of the problem at hand.

2) Write down all objectives and attributes of the problem.

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3) Use and record words, phrases, pictures   anything that will quickly capture the

responses from the

individuals in the brainstorming activity. Record EVERYTHING.

4) Let your mind run wild. Don t judge what you or anyone else is saying. And don t

squelch someone

Else`s idea.

5) Hitchhike on other’s ideas. Broaden your vision.

6) Keep it loose.

7) Remember that last is best. Make sure you do this long enough. The first part of a

brainstorming session usually gets all of the habitual responses out of the way. If you stop

too soon, you may miss new ways of looking at the problem. Allow for periods of silence.

Brainstorming, like every other method, has techniques that make it more profitable than a

hit-or-miss approach.

Osborn in his 1957book ‘Applied imagination : principles and procedures of creative

problem-solving’. devised a checklist of idea finding questions to aide in the development of

options: (try to think of these in terms visuals or narrative)

Other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified?

Adapt? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does past offer parallel? What could I copy? Whom could I emulate?

Modify? New twist? Change meaning, colour, motion, odour, taste, form, shape? Other changes?

Magnify? What to add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Larger? Longer? Thicker? Heavier? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?

Minify? What to subtract? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Narrower? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate? Less frequent?

Substitute? Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Other time?

Rearrange? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change place? Change schedule? Earlier? Later?

Reverse? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward, upside down, inside out? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek?

Combine? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units?

This list is also sometimes referred to as SCAMPER - Substitute, Combine, Adapt,

Modify/Magnify/Minify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Reverse/Rearrange.

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The lateral thinking canvas

The canvas is designed as a verification and movement device. It stretches in one coupd`oil

all the patherning of lateral thinking.

Two main characteristics :

Its central enter are questions: What , and Why

It is cocked in the sides. That design is a little unease to the eye, with the intention of

provocation, getting us away of the regular thinking

Two main philosophies

To keep alternatives

To abstract essence of questions

Each field explained

The fields are enumerated in a sequence, one tool is to use the sequence to help the process,

it is thought to maximize the results. It doesn`t mean that filling the fields in any order is

intrinsically wrong, neither is it not using one of the tools, in those cases it shows different

approaches that can be used.

1. Questioning : In here we start knowing what we want to know. Before even starting

we must understand what are we doing and why we are doing it. Since Lateral

thinking is divergent we need have a problem to start. The main idea is not cutting

the thinking, it is giving a start point and a standard that is not the original point

neither the solution but abstract propositions of both. Surely the secondary use is for

harvesting ideas and redirecting discussions when , as usual, there is a time

constrain.

2. The original start: defining the present situation and problem allows to clarify

thoughts

3. The original solution opens a discussion to clarify objectives.

4. Constraints: here we think about the imposed limitations in the process

5. The Point of entry allows the discussion of fixed paths

6. The Attention area shows what is being though as logical

7. The two provocative spaces : tey are one towards the solution the other towards

the start , the idea is to start our attack on the concepts, and by being in both side,

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remember the multi dimensional approach, it is like there was a 3D link in two parts ot

the diagram and therefore a in our 2D perceptions.

8. Random entries are to be filled with aleatory thinking points

9. Brainstorm in this space the ideas of a brainstorm appear , in a certain way here all

the other areas come to life in here.

10. Other solution: different ideas come to create a new solution that is a possible

distillation of the process

11. Other start : new thinking process can unveil a different problematic that actually

shifts the process

And more

11.5 Re-start : with those new views new canvases can be created, and the

divergence can continue

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When To Use Lateral Thinking?

If you haven't heard of Edward de Bono or of Lateral Thinking, perhaps you have been too busy thinking in conventional ways.

Forbes Magazine

Problem Solving

Often when you are problem solving or designing something there may well be an obvious answer. If the matter is important it can be beneficial to a small amount of time to use lateral thinking to discover alternative ways of defining the problem and to start thinking about it in a broader sense. You can train your brain to be more naturally creative and discover better solutions to known problems.

Finding new ways.

It is possible that the way you do everything in your life or business is the best possible way of doing it, but not likely. Whether you have created a way of doing things yourself or have been told that 'this is the way to do this', there are likely other ways to do those things more effectively and efficiently. By using the techniques from Lateral Thinking to look for new ways to improve yourself and business you can achieve your goals.

For Inventions & Innovation

Every Inventor or Creative will at times need to focus their creativity towards the process of Invention, whether it is a patentable invention or a mobile application it will some times be thinking from a 'blank page' state, not simply being about improving what is already there. Lateral Thinking help thinkers be more proactive and confident in their thinking. When solving a problem that is not yet known lateral thinking can help you choose your starting point.

Lateral thinking is concerned with breaking out of old ideas.

Leads to changes in attitude and approach

Use information not for its own sake but for its effect

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Interlude A criticism: Is Lateral Thinking Necessary for Creativity?

(By Mark McGuinness)

The phrase ‘lateral thinking’ is frequently used interchangeably with ‘creativity’. We take it

for granted that creative people think different to the rest of us. It’s what makes them

creative. Or is it?

Psychology professor and creativity expert Robert Weisberg is highly critical of lateral or

divergent thinking and claims it is unnecessary for creativity.

He argues that there is very little evidence of lateral thinking in the work of great creators

such as Mozart, Beethoven, Darwin, Edison, or the Wright brothers. Weisberg claims that

the creative process takes place via a process of logical thinking, trial and error, feedback

and reflection – all of which involves ‘ordinary thought processes’. Whereas de Bono

stresses the need to take off the ‘blinkers’ of past knowledge in order to look at things afresh

and come up with new solutions, Weisberg believes that expertise and knowledge based on

past experience are the foundation on which creators build.

So for Weisberg, creative people differ from noncreative people not in their use of lateral

thinking, but in possessing different knowledge and skills. He does concede that analogies

are important, but argues that these are typically ‘near’ (i.e. obvious) analogies rather than

the ‘distant’ (surprising) analogies recommended by de Bono.

A probable answer

As we have noted both thinking stiles are complementary and

“Creativity requires constant shifting, blender pulses of both

divergent thinking and convergent thinking, to combine new

information with old and forgotten ideas. Highly creative

people are very good at marshaling their brains into

bilateral mode, and the more creative they are, the more

they dual-activate.” The Creativity Crisis by Po Bronson and

Ashley Merryman

So we can say that lateral thinking is not necessary for creativity, but it is useful, and so will

increase the creative results.

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4 Using lateral thinking

There is a saying that, "Like a

parachute, your mind only functions

when its open."'' 0 If you already

believe you know how to think; this

paper will do you no good, for, in

the words of Henry David Thoreau,

"It takes two to speak the truth--one

to speak and another to hear."

"...the brain is a tool of the mind,

and behavior is an effect of the mind."--Stuart B. Litvik

It has been said that, "You prepare your own way by the nature of your own thought

patterns.''

It would behoove us to develop the thinking skills necessary to recognize and update our

thinking patterns, so they remain an actual reflection of reality. It is essential to recognize

that a thought pattern is only one of several

alternative arrangements that could have formed a

mental pattern and, therefore, that mental patterns

can be restructured or changed. It is also essential

to recognize that the current arrangement of

information in a mental pattern can never make the

best use of available information and, therefore, that

it is necessary to restructure the patterns in order to

bring the arrangement up-todate.

Our progress, , depends upon being able to do this.

Progress is not a matter of changing wrong or

inadequate ideas but of changing ideas which have

been perfectly right but are now obsolete. Any idea,

no matter how right, may need changing. If this is so, then any idea, no matter how right,

should be re-examined from time to time. Unfortunately, our education system does not

equip us well for this task.

USA belief in their technical superiority

and the former Soviet Union's technical

inferiority--based upon established mental

patterns--that lead them to smirk at the

apparent backwardness of their use of

vacuum tubes rather than integrated or

printed circuits for many avionics systems

in the construction of the MiG-25

"Foxbat," these tubes were in systems on

the periphery of the aircraft to enable it to

better withstand the electromagnetic pulse

(EMP) effect of a nuclear explosion.

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Lateral Thinking Exercises In order to be a successful you must be able to

think outside the box. On a sheet of paper jot

down your solutions to the following lateral

thinking scenarios.

1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! Why?

2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can this be?

3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, coat, gloves and ski mask. He is walking down a back street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?

4. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How?

5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones? This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees.

6. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?

7. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?

8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?

9. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out. This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard

Standardized tests are convergent; so is

an IQ test.

What color is a banana? The “right” answer is yellow. But a 5 years old answered white Is that actually wrong?

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to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.

10. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

11. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

12. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?

13. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?

14. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? (or day names in any other language)

15. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.

16. One classical example is where nine dots are arranged on the sides and the center of a square as in the picture below. The problem is to connect the dots with no more than 4 straight lines without lifting your hand from the paper.

Solutions

1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.

2. The surgeon was his mother.

3. It was day time.

4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.

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5. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.

6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.

7. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments. (Just what a HUMOR list needs!!) ;^)

8. They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.). This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?

9. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups--so the man no longer needed the water. The is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.

10. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

11. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.

12. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and put the ice in the barrel. You will be able to tell which water came from which jug.

13. The answer is Charcoal.

14. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

15. The letter "e," which is the most common letter in the English language, does not appear once in the long paragraph...

16.

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Sources

1. De Bono , Eduard Lateral Thinking 2. Richard P. Hobbs, Jr. Thinking --You Can Learn To DoBetter What You

ThinkYou Already Do Well: 3. W. H. Calvin – How the brain thinks 4. Andrew Capelli Reintroducing Lateral Thinking Teach Creativity While You

Teach Everything Else! 5. https://www.cut-the-knot.org/ghint.shtml 6. https://www.edubloxtutor.com/logical-thinking/ 7. https://www.toolshero.com/communication-skills/lasswell-communication-

model/ 8. sgmoraes2.tripod.com/conteudo/comunicacao/shannon_weaver_model.html 9. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/01/transforming-problem-solving-

creativity/ 10. https://www.marketingsociety.com/sites/default/files/thelibrary/market-leader-summer-

2007_0.pdf 11. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~ccjones/curricula/01-

02/sophcd/kb/other/lateral.html 12. thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/thinking/types-of-

thinking-2/lateral-thinking/lateral-thinking-techniques/ 13. https://www.multifamilypro.com/brainstorming-sessions/ 14. https://medium.com/praxis-blog/theory-of-constraints-101-2d4d9cf1916a