CHALLENGE 2 | DAY 14 | All about creativity

16 january '14

Lateral thinking, step by step creativity explained, part 2

Vertical thinking is all about rightness
Lateral thinking is all about richness

Vertical thinking selects a pathway by excluding other pathways
Lateral thinking does not select but seeks to open up new pathways

Vertical thinking selects the most promising approach
Lateral thinking generates as many alternative approaches as possible

Vertical thinking looks through approaches for the most promising one
Lateral thinking finds a promising one and keeps generating and keeps looking for more

Vertical thinking only moves when there is a direction to move to
Lateral thinking moves in order to generate direction

Vertical thinking is analytical
Lateral thinking is provocative

Vertical thinking is sequential
Lateral thinking can move in jumps

Vertical thinking follows the most likely path
Lateral thinking explores the least likely ones

Vertical thinking is finite
Lateral thinking is probabilistic

The vertical thinker says: I know what I'm looking for
The lateral thinker says: I'm looking, but i won't know what I'm looking for until I have found it



A small note about todays workshops

Teacher? You look exactly like Obi wan Kenobi of the Star Wars.

If I want to know about fantasy, I observe kids. If I want to be inspired, I converse with kids. If I want to be creative I listen to kids. 

CHALLENGE 2 | DAY 13 | All about creativity

15 january '14

Lateral thinking vs. vertical thinking

Today I started reading the book of Edward de Bono. The book is called 'Lateral thinking, step by step creativity explained'.
Learning for me is also reading books about the subject. And to make it more powerful for me I make notes during the reading sessions.

A few notes of today:

- One can only admire a result but one can learn to use a process

- Liberation from old ideas and the stimulation of new ones are twin aspects of lateral thinking

- Lateral thinking is digging holes on different locations, while vertical thinking is digging the same hole deeper.

- You can't dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper

- Lateral thinking is a very basic part of thinking in general

Lateral thinking is 
--> restructuring old patterns and provoking new ones
--> the use of information for the effect
--> deliberately seeking irrelevant information
--> generative

Vertical thinking is
--> selecting only what's relevant
--> selective
--> making a conclusion after a pre determined series of steps
--> developing ideas which are generated by lateral thinking
--> proving and developing concept patterns
--> digging the same hole deeper