Week 6 - 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.Lateral thinking deliberately distances itself from standard perceptions of creativity as either "vertical" logic (the classic method for problem solving: working out the solution step-by-step from the given data) or "horizontal" imagination (having a thousand ideas but being unconcerned with the detailed implementation of them).

According to Edward de Bono , the inventor of Lateral Thinking ,There are several ways of defining lateral thinking, ranging from the technical to the illustrative.

1. "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.

2. "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'.

3. "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.

4. "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.

I have this Lateral thinking excersice on class, and for me doing lateral thinking is not an easy thinking, because i have life in a very realistic life, and in every moment before deciding something , i have to do a very calculate step by step choise, for lateral thinking is an ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.But this Lateral thinking is not a impossible thinking , we can obtain this lateral thinking by keep practising to develop a creative way of thinking.For us desinger, we need to come out with unique and lateral idea to entertain and creat a unobvious and eye catching artwork. 

So here's example of my lateral thinking exercise :3 

Those who want to try this kind of lateral thinking i will give an example 

Connect all dots only using 4 lines! 

To be able to answer these questions you'd need to first pause and analyze the question, before coming up with an obvious answer that didn't require prolonged thinking. Take your time to answer these and you'll see that they aren't all that hard to piece out.

Hope this lateral thinking can help you be more creative . STAY FOREVER . 

                                                                        -THE END-