Lateral Thinking

A Textbook Of Creativity by Edward De Bono

Notes from the book by Bill Paton, Solutioneer
paton_bill@hotmail.com

The Way The Mind Works

Code Communication

• The mind as a pattern-making system
• Self organizing system
• Limited attention span
• Sequence of arrival of information (self-maximizing systems)

  - even though one had been correct at each stage one would still have to restructure the situation before being able to proceed.

• The arrangement of information is always less than the best possible arrangement

The purpose of lateral thinking is to overcome the limitations by providing a means for restructuring, for escaping from cliche patterns, for putting information together in new ways to give new ideas.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LATERAL AND VERTICAL THINKING

• Vertical thinking is selective, lateral thinking is generative.
• Rightness is what matters in vertical thinking. Richness is what matters in lateral thinking
• Vertical thinking is analytical, lateral thinking is provocative.
• Vertical thinking is sequential, lateral thinking can make jumps. One may jump ahead to a new point and then fill in the gap afterwards.
• It may be necessary to be on top of the mountain in order to find the best way up.
• With vertical thinking one has to be correct at every step, with lateral thinking one does not have to be.
• With vertical thinking one uses the negative in order to block off certain pathways. With lateral thinking there is no negative.
• With vertical thinking one concentrates and excludes what is irrelevant, with lateral thinking one welcomes chance intrusions.
• With vertical thinking categories, classifications and labels are fixed, with lateral thinking they are not.
• Vertical thinking follows the most likely paths, lateral thinking explores the least likely.
• Vertical thinking is a finite process, lateral thinking is a probalilistic one.
• With lateral thinking there may not be any answer at all. With vertical thinking one uses information for its own sake in order to move forward to a solution. With lateral thinking one uses information not for its own sake but provocatively in order to bring about repatterning.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS LATERAL THINKING

Insight is brought about by alterations in pattern sequence brought about by provocative stimulation and lateral thinking provides such stimulation.

Lateral thinking is like the reverse gear in a car. One would never try to drive along in reverse gear the whole time. On the other hand once needs to have it and know how to use it for maneuverability and to get out of a blind alley.

BASIC NATURE OF LATERAL THINKING

• Lateral thinking is concerned with changing patterns.
• In a self-maximizing system with a memory the arrangement of information must always be less than the best possible arrangement.
• The rearrangement of information into another pattern is insight restructuring. The purpose of the rearrangement is to find a better and more effective pattern. A particular way of looking at things may have developed gradually. An idea that was very useful at one time may no longer be so useful today and yet the current idea has developed from that old and outmoded idea.
• Lateral thinking is also a particular way of using information in order to bring about pattern restructuring.

THE USES OF LATERAL THINKING

New Ideas

There are jobs that demand a continual flow of new ideas (research, design, advertising, architecture, etc).

Problem Solving

A problem is simply the difference between what one has and what one wants..

Three Types of Problems: -

• The first type of problem requires for its solution more information or better techniques for handling information.
• The second type of problem requires no new information but a rearrangement of information already available - an insight restructuring.
• The third type of problem is the problem of no problem. The present arrangement is causing a block.
• Processing perceptual choice.

Periodic Reassessment

Prevention of sharp divisions and polarizations

THE GENERATION OF ALTERNATIVES

The most basic principle of LT is that any particular way of looking at things is only one from among many other possible ways.

Quota

A minimum number of desired alternatives.

CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS

Cliches are stereotyped phrases. Basic ideas are themselves patterns that can be restructured and broken down.

In problem solving, one always assumes certain boundaries. These limits are often self imposed, so step outside the limits.

In challenging assumptions one challenges the necessity of boundaries and limits and one challenges the validity of individual concepts.

The `why' technique. Like a child, constantly ask `why'.

INNOVATION

Up to now we have covered two fundamental aspects: -

• The deliberate generation of alternative ways of looking at things
• The challenging of assumptions

SUSPENDED JUDGMENT

The purpose of thinking is not to be right but to be effective.

The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar there is to new ideas.

Judgment is suspended during the generative stage of thinking in order to be applied during the selective stage.

One does not rush to judge or evaluate an idea -- one prefers exploration.

Design

Example of the apple picking machine.

Emphasis on the different ways of doing things.

DOMINANT IDEAS AND CRUCIAL FACTORS

Example of picking the dominant ideas from a newspaper article.

Get into the habit of picking out the dominant ideas.

A dominant idea is the organizing theme in a way of looking at a situation. It is often present but undefined and one tries to define it in order to escape from it. A crucial factor is some element in the situation which must always be included no matter how one looks at the situation.

The purpose of isolating crucial factors is to examine them.

FRACTIONATION

The aim of lateral thinking is to look at different ways to restructure patterns, to generate alternatives.

If one takes any situation and breaks it down into fractions one can then restructure the situation by putting the fractions together in a new way.

Two unit division - an artificial technique of division into units or fractions.

The aim is restructuring not explanation. The purpose of the technique is to escape from the inhibiting unity of a fixed pattern to the more generative situation of several fractions.

THE REVERSAL METHOD

Unless one is going to sit around waiting for inspiration the most practical way to get moving is to work on what one has. In the reversal method, one takes things as they are and then turns them around, inside out, upside down and back to front.

In LT one is not looking for the right answer but for a different arrangement of information which will provoke a different way of looking at the situation.

One uses the reversal method in order to escape from the absolute necessity to look at the situation in the standard way.

BRAINSTORMING

Cross stimulation suspended judgment formality of the session time limit

Format

• Size -- 6 To 12
• Chairman
• Note taker
• Time Limit -- 30 Minutes
• Warm Up
• Follow Up

At the end of the evaluation session there should be three lists

• Ideas of immediate usefulness
• Areas for further exploration
• New approaches to the problem

ANALOGIES

The two problems of lateral thinking are:

1. To get going, to get some movement, to start a train of thought
2. To escape the natural, obvious, cliche train of thought.

Choosing An Analogy - the analogy does not have to fit. Sometimes it is better if it does not fit! Be aware of becoming trapped by the obvious.

CHOICE OF ENTRY POINT AND ATTENTION AREA

Rotation of attention

RANDOM STIMULATION

Choose a word at random from the dictionary.

The effect of random stimulation.

Normally if there are two unconnected inputs one of them would be ignored and the other would be attended to. But if both are deliberately held in attention then a connection may be made.

A random input can bring about a new entry point to the problem under consideration.

CONCEPTS/DIVISIONS/POLARIZATION

Words, Names and Labels

Polarization

New Categories - the dangers of the polarizing tendency are:

• Once established the categories become permanent.
• New information is altered so that it fits an established category. Once it has done so there is no indication that it is any different form anything else under that category.
• At no point is it ever essential to create new categories. One can get by with very few categories
• The fewer the categories the greater the degree of shift.

Lateral Thinking

• Challenge the labels
• Try and do without them
• Establish new label
• Challenging the labels

THE NEW WORD PO

NO And PO

Creating New Arrangements of Information -- YES, NO and PO

The function of po is to bring about a provocative arrangement of information without saying anything at all about it.

Second function of po is challenging old arrangements of information.

For convenience the many uses of po may be divided into three broad classes:

The Generation of Alternatives.

Anti arrogance. Relaxation. Reexamination of a concept. Rethinking. Restructuring. Indicating an awareness of the possibility of clichés or a rigid point of view.

Provocation.

The use of arrangements of information as stimuli. Juxtapositions. Introduction of random words. Abolition of concept divisions. The use of fantasy and nonsense.

Protection and Rescue.

Holding off judgment. Temporarily reversing judgment. Removal of the no label.

BLOCKED BY OPENNESS

There are three ways in which thinking can be blocked: -

• One is blocked by a gap. You have to look around for more information or generate some.
• One is blocked by something being in the way. You have to remove the obstacle.
• One is blocked because there is nothing new in the way. You may have missed the turnoff.

Last Updated: 10 February 99