Lateral Thinking (part 1)

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Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono,,
A Maltese psychologist, physician and writer. It first appeared in the title of his book The Use of Lateral Thinking,
published in 1967. De Bono defines lateral thinking as:
methods of thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception.
Lateral thinking is about conclusion that is not immediately obvious
And about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

LATERAL THINKING

We can say that the World is Changing and changing F A S T.We cannot grasp it totally ….
We don’t know what our future will need,Education too needs to change
What will your child need to know more acutely in future????
How to measure the area of rhombus??
To think out innovative solutions to complex problems??
lots of questions…!!

The former is an example of Vertical Thinking
step 1 ? step 2 ? step 3 ?step 4
Mathematics and Logic are a part of it
It is important BUT Insufficient
Because it does not allow breeding of new ideas
Or creation of new products
Or new insights in existing problems
Hence the need for:

L            T            R            L
        A           E            A

             Thinking

Lateral Thinking is a tool that leads to Insights, creativity and new ideas
Ideas that are not just technical, But ideas that bring CHANGE

Change in every field from Politics to science Philosophy to traffic nuisance Personal happiness to sports

Lateral Thinking teaches you how to think creatively,

turn problems into opportunities, find alternative solutions,
and spark your creativity on demand.

Can’t Believe ???

Try this
Four plants are to be planted in a garden in such a manner that they are equidistant from each other
Try….
May be a square ?? But then what about diagonals
May be a circle …..but noooooo,
Try as hard as you can … the solution is almost impossible
Unless …………
You think Laterally and break the assumption of planting all trees on the same level of ground hight….

Now you see lateral thinking solves problems ….
Practical Problems
Because Lateral Thinking is a skill that can be learnt practiced and applied just like
Maths, Tennis, OR music

Lateral Thinking is Thinking out of the Box

“You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper” :
- This means that trying harder in the same direction may not be as useful as changing direction.
Effort in the same direction (approach) will not necessarily succeed.

“Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and perceptions” :
- With logic you start out with certain ingredients just as in playing chess you start out with given pieces.
But what are those pieces? In most real life situations the pieces are not given, we just assume they are there.
We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries.
Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces.
Lateral thinking is concerned with the perception part of thinking.
This is where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then ‘process’.

“The brain as a self-organising information system forms asymmetric patterns.
In such systems there is a mathematical need for moving across patterns.
The tools and processes of lateral thinking are designed to achieve such ‘lateral’ movement.
The tools are based on an understanding of self-organising information systems.” :
- This is a technical definition which depends on an understanding of self-organising information systems.

“In any self-organising system there is a need to escape from a local optimum in order to move towards a more global optimum.
The techniques of lateral thinking, such as provocation, are designed to help that change.” :
- This is another technical definition. It is important because it also defines the mathematical need for creativity.

A LESSON TO LEARN:

Most of the times, our mind gets conditioned so much by the circumstances that we can not see the obvious.

When we go to a specialist doctor with a simple headache, diagnosis starts from migraine, upwards!

We assume that things are so complicated and we get entrapped in the ghost of it’s thoughts.

We carry on the same syndrome to our relationships and make them complicated.

BE SIMPLE IN LIFE !

 

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