Lateral Thinking A process aproach HERNAN MURUA 0 2019 Life has a lot of problems. Everybody can remember a problem at work were weeks or even years were Lateral spent living with the problem until someone came with an amazing idea that changed everything. That is the history of the wheel , Thinking writing, zero, airplane, computer , iPod… Problem solving seems something of A process approach 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! 1 Thinking the other 01 direction 1 What is lateral Thinking Lateral and vertical thinking are the two complementay patterns of thinking. Vertical thinking The Th… word is more well known , we will compare both to 02 understand lateral thinking 2 The thinkig problem Lateral thinking as a Thinking is not na idea, it is not a destination, process. thinking is a process, it is the journey. Failing to 03 understand that is the reason of most wrong belief about thinking Interlude- criticism 3 The Lateral Thinking theory and praxis Lateral thinking 04 happening 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. 2 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. Result 1 Path Result 2 Start System Result Other path Diferent result Diferent A totally strannge path 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 3 · movements that do not have to be sequential, right, or self-supporting What is the central question in lateral thinking? · intrusions and irrelevance Lateral thinking was developed by Edward de Bono in response to the following question: · a definite process that has indefinite Why do some people always seem to be having new ideas while others of equal intelligence never do? outcomes . Thinking Convergent Divergent (vertical) (lateral) 1. Take a position 1. Consider positions 2.Develop arguments which 2.Put forward different views are which are; •Related to 1 • not derived from each other •Derived from 1 • not all correct • not all co-existing 3.Areas of focus 3. Areas of focus •Truth •Possibilities •Logic •Alternatives •What is •What might be Searches dichotomy Creates value TRUE X FALSE ALTERNATIVES idea 2 idea1 idea2 idea idea idea p 1 3 idea3 idea n Result (idea4) 4 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, 5 Thinking and Ideas The major distinction here is between thinking and ideas: Thinking is a process it is a path from one idea point to another Ideas are results of a thinking process, are states, starting or ending points. idea So it is a common mistake to believe that all you need is to create ideas, the idea birth depends on the idea 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 6 Operation of the mind Any computing system depends on A logic of operation A language of Logic communication A memory device Language The logic of operation implies the weight of any idea and the sequence of operation. Memory 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. 7 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.