18103363 lateral thinking

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Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by StepEdward de Bono

Synopsis by Hernan Cortes

The way the mind works

Communication is the transfer for information. Communication by code can only work if

there are preset patterns worked out beforehand. Language itself is a code system.

The mind is a pattern making system creating and recognizing patterns.

The mind provides an opportunity for information to organize into patterns.

A fundamental feature of a passive self-organizing memory system is limited attention

span. As such it becomes self-maximizing, which means that the process of selection,

rejection, combination, and separation all become possible.

The trouble with a self-maximizing system that must make sense at each moment is that

the sequence of arrival of information determines the way it is to be arranged and the

arrangement of information is thus always less than the best possible arrangement.

A switch over to a new arrangement is humor (if temporary) or insight (if permanent).

The advantage is quickness of recognition and hence quickness of reaction. The

disadvantage is that:

The patterns tend to become established ever more rigidly since they controlattention.

It is extremely difficult to change patterns once they have become established. Information that is arranged as part of one pattern cannot easily be used as part ofa completely different pattern. There is a tendency towards centering which means that anything which has any

resemblance to a standard pattern will be perceived as the standard pattern.

Patterns can be created by divisions which are more or less arbitrary. What iscontinuous nay be divided into distinct units which then grow further apart. Once

such units are formed they become self-perpetuating. The division may continue

long after it has ceased to be useful or the division may intrude into areas where it

has no usefulness.

There is great continuity in the system. A slight divergence at one point can makea huge difference later.

The sequence of arrival of information plays too important a part in itsarrangement. Any arrangement of information is thus unlikely to be the best

possible arrangement of the information that is available.

There is a tendency to snap from one pattern to another instead of having asmooth change over.


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The use of lateral thinking

New ideas

Problem solving

Processing perceptual choice

Periodic reassessment

Prevention of sharp divisions and polarizations

The generation of alternatives

The most basic principle of lateral thinking is that any particular way of looking at things

is only one from among many other possible ways.

In order to change the search for alternatives from being a good intention to a practical

routine one can set a quota.

The three ways of encouraging lateral thinking are:

Awareness of the principles of lateral thinking, the need for lateral thinking, andthe rigidity of vertical thinking patterns.

The use of some definite technique which develops the original pattern and maybring about restructuring.

The deliberate alteration of circumstances so that they can stimulate restructuring.Changing assumptions

It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptionsnot a repeated assessment of

their validity.

In challenging assumptions one challenges the necessity of boundaries and limits and onechallenges the validity of individual concepts. Lateral thinking restructures patterns and

assumptions are patterns which usually escape the restructuring process.

The why technique repeatedly directs questions at some particular aspect of a previous

explanation. The purpose is to create discomfort with any explanation.

Suspended judgment

The purpose of thinking is not to be right but to be effective, being right only at the end.

The suspension of judgment can have the following effects:

An idea will survive longer and will breed further ideas. Other people will offer ideas which their own judgment would have rejected.

Such ideas may be extremely useful to those receiving them.

The ideas of others can be accepted for their stimulating effect instead of beingrejected.

Ideas which are judged to be wrong within the current frame of reference maysurvive long enough to show that the frame of reference needs altering.


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In practice:

One does not rush to judge or evaluate an idea. One prefers exploration. Attention is shifted from the fact that an idea is obviously wrong to how it can be

useful.

One delays the moment that an idea must be eventually thrown out in order toextract as much usefulness as possible.

One follows along behind an idea instead of forcing an idea in the direction thatjudgment dictates.

Dominant ideas and crucial factors

A dominant idea is the organizing theme in a way of looking at a situation. The dominant

idea organizes the situation. The dominant idea resides not in the situation itself but in the

way it is looked at. One of the main purposes of picking out a dominant idea is to be able

to escape from it.

It is not a matter of finding the correct dominant idea but of getting into the habit oftrying to pick out the dominant idea to avoid it.

The dominant idea may include the whole subject or only one aspect of it.

A crucial factor is some element of the situation which must always be included no mater

how one looks at a situation. The crucial factor tethers the situation. A crucial factor may

be an assumption.

Fractionation

Fractionation is breaking down a situation in a unnatural parts to provide material which

can be used to restructure the original situation.

Whenever there is difficulty in dividing something into fractions it can be useful to adopt

the artificial technique of division into two units or fractions. The two fractions produced

are themselves further divided into two more fractions until one has a satisfactory number

of fractions.

The purpose of fractionation is to escape from the inhibiting unity of a fixed pattern to the

more generative situation of several fractions.

The reverse method

Whenever a direction is indicated then the opposite direction is equally well defined.

Whenever there is a one way relationship between two parties the situation can be

reversed.

One uses the reversal procedure in order to escape from the absolute necessity to look at

the situation in the standard way.

By disrupting the original way of looking at the situation one frees information that can

come together in a new way.


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The reversal technique helps to overcome the terror of being wrong, of taking a step that

is not justified.

The main purpose is provocative. By making the reversal one moves to a new position.

Then one sees what happens.

Occasionally the reversal approach is useful in itself.

Brainstorming

Cross stimulation

Suspended judgment

Formulation of the problem

Analogies

Analogies are used to provide movement. The problem is related to the analogy and then

the analogy is developed along its own lines. At each stage the development is transferred

back to the original problem. Thus the problem is carried along with the analogy.

Choice of entry point and attention area

Attention area refers to the part of a situation or problem that is attended to. Entry

point refers to the part of a problem or situation that is first attended to. It is useful to

develop some skill in picking out and following different entry points. Attention usually

settles over the most obvious areas. A slight shift in attention may by itself restructure a

situation. One deliberately tries to rotate attention over all parts of the problem especially

those which do not seem to merit it.

Random stimulation

With random stimulation one deliberately mixes in an unconnected piece of informationin order to disturb the original pattern., From this disturbance may come a restructuring

of the pattern or late least a new line of development.

The two main ways of bringing about random stimulation are:

Exposureo Accepting and welcoming random inputso Exposure to the ideas of others.o Exposure to ideas from completely different fields.o Physical exposure to random stimulation.

Formal generationo Use of a dictionary to provide a random word.o Formal selection of a book or journal in a library.o The use of some routine to select an object from the surroundings.


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Concepts/divisions/polarization

Separation into units, selection of units, and combination of units in different ways

provides a very powerful information processing system. Units can be created by

reassembling units to form a new one that its then treated as a complete unit.

It is easier to establish two completely different patterns than to change an established

pattern. If a new pattern is only slightly different then it will shift toward the established

pattern.

In order to escape labels:

Challenge the labels. Try and do without them. Establish new labels.

Blocked by openness

There are three ways in which thinking can be blocked: One is blocked by a gap (e.g. lack of information). One is blocked by obstruction One is blocked from exploring alternatives because there is nothing in the way of

the established path.

Lateral thinking is about avoiding the third type of block.

Description/problem solving/design

There are three practical situations which encourage the use of lateral thinking:

Description: there can be as many descriptions as there are points of view. Somedescriptions may be more useful than others. Bu there is no one description which

is correct leaving all the others to be wrong.

Problem solving:o To resolve some difficulty.o To bring about something new.o To do away with something unsatisfactory.

Design: to bring about a desired state of affairs.

18103363 lateral thinking

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