If you are still not clear, here are the 6 top classic examples of exactly how lateral thinking works. Sep 05, 20 the book, lateral thinking gives a fairly clear description of the concepts. Develop an existing patter n restructure an existing patter n. Lawyers and detectives do employ lateral thinking when attempting to solve crimes because the sequence of events is often not as straightforward it first appears to be. Vertical thinking is distinguished as something that is linear, while on the other hand lateral thinking can be seen as nonlinear. I wrote my first book on the feminine counterpart to the hero archetype, which i give workshops on worldwide including at raindance film school in london. We shall present to you an understanding of two contrasting ways of thinking linear and nonlinear thinking. It essentially means being able to think creatively or outside the box in order to solve a problem. I draw upon my work with western and oral cultures for my current book the arrow and the ring. Today i wanted to tell you about a couple different logic styles, and see which one you think you are.
May 09, 2016 well, if it sounds like we just talked about it in lateral thinking, it indeed is. Unless, of course, you are able to outthink our nations enemies. Jun 11, 2015 follows the same method of thinking that is most popular among police detectives. A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to creating new ideas.
Creative thinking how to get out of the box and generate ideas. Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. In the book, the concept of vertical thinking can be seen with many. You see that lateral thinking is the type of thinking that leads to new ideas. Non linear thinking is human thought characterized by expansion in multiple directions, rather than in one direction, and based on the concept that there are multiple starting points from which one can apply logic to a problem. A rock musician with highlevel security clearance ridiculous.
His other books are expansions on the original idea. The use of lateral thinking in the generation of new ideas. Packed full of over 60 different quality lateral thinking puzzles, this book gives you the chance to exercise your brainpower to think laterally and to seek to solve. Examples in a spectrum of vertical and lateral thinking. Linear thinking is the standard stepbystep approach to breaking down challenges and seeking solutions. Lateral thinking is the mental process of generating ideas and solving problems. Each conversation happened recently on different dates and involved one person who suffers from depression and another who suffers from dyslexia. Programmed thinking is using a structured or logical framework to create a product, system or service. As the name suggests, linear thinking takes a sequential, patterned, orderly and systematic approach to decision making and problem solving.
Lateral thinking has to be distinguished from critical thinking. A straight line between two points has been the way we. This lesson goes over the concept of lateral thinking. Thinking presented by ayush jain himanshu sukhija saurabh jain rochak vishnoi prerna arora topics.
He has written numerous books, which have been translated into 34 languages, and his advice is sought by nobel laureates and world leaders alike. A person with lots of depth can come up with minute details to answer a question but theyll get stuck putting those details into the context of a bigger picture, one that involves something outside of their field of expertise. The lateral thinking attitude involves firstly a refusal to accept rigid patterns and secondly an attempt to put things together in different ways. How can you determine which switch is connected to which bulb if you may enter the room only once. There are so many useful exercises to help you develop lateral thinking habits, which help to improve general creativity. Although promotion b nearly doubled sales, profits sank almost 25%. Rather than argue that one style of thinking is more important or practical than the other, every leader should strive to strike a balance between linear and non linear thinking. A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to new ideas. Lateral thinking means taking a creative approach to a problem or challenge. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. Feb 23, 2008 programmed thinking versus lateral thinking another way to think of brainstorming is to understand what its not and how it differs from something we do often in our day to day jobs programmed thinking. Lateral thinking only makes you shift your logical thoughts from one sequence to. Jan 21, 20 creative thinking, creativity, lateral thinking, linear thinking it is said that it takes all kinds. A way of thinking that seeks a solution to an intractable problem through unorthodox methods or elements that would normally be ignored by logical thinking.
The reason for this is the simple fact that vertical thinking utilizes a sequential method in solving problem, where only one solution is generally realized. Non linear thinking is less constrictive letting the creative side of you run rampant because of its inherent lack. By thinking outside of the box and becoming more fluid, a linear thinker opens up the possibilities for both themselves and the rest of their team. Still not sure whether youre a linear or lateral thinker. Last week on my blog we talked about differences in creative routines. Differences between vertical and lateral thinking in our world we are governed by rules and structure, and there is a great deal of time spent developing them. One of these managers has a socalled linear thinking style. It will help you assess your lateral thinking skills. Since then, he has written around 40 books on creativity and thinking. A lateral thinker like kim otto or a linear thinker like.
Linear thinking is the process of thought following known stepbystep progression where a response to a step must be elicited before another step is taken. The differences between lateral thinking, parallel. He is widely regarded as the leading authority in the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples log in dictionary. Remember when elvis asked nixon if he could be in the dea. So, let us conclude that design thinking is a more organized type of lateral thinking with specific techniques attempted for the domain in question. Creativity exercises to improve your lateral thinking. Linear thinking vs lateral thinking 1 thought reason. Linear thinking is analytical, sequential and highly focused. The differentiation between linear and lateral thinking can be best described with examples. In my hunt for jack reacher series thrillers, fbi special agent kim otto is a lateral thinker, often at odds with the linear thinking carlos gaspar as a lateral thinker, kim otto. Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. Lesson from kodak the price of linear thinking our brains are literally hardwired to think locally and linearly. This book gives am idea on what lateral thinking is, how it alongside vertical thinking is the most deadliest tool an individual can have in solving any problem.
Book is almost done and i will endeavour to put out as much practical info in blogs very soon. Here well talk you through what the ability is, and give some examples of lateral thinking skills. What is the difference between lateral thinking and linear. It requires a lateral shift in thinking to realise that the issue here is the relationship between time and starting of the car, and of course there is a logical relationship between vanilla ice cream and time. The other is a lateral thinker looking for unusual ideas from which radical innovation could emerge. Their thinking process proceeds in a sequential manner, like a straight line. This is the core chapter of this book, about the complexity of complexity. This means that he approaches idea generation and idea development with conventional methods. Lateral thinking in management innolytics innovation. Lateral thinking means thinking differently or thinking out of the box. Based on the way people are charting a lot of characters, it seems as though getting down to the nitty gritty of it people seem to think linear thinkers are literally just thinking less, or taking fewer things into account. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. This is a process of thought following known cycles or stepbystep progression where a response to a step must be elicited before another step is taken.
Nov, 2014 how does critical differ from analytical or lateral thinking. Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the truth value of statements and seeking errors. Traditional western thinking system is based upon linear logic. Leadership challenges in linear thinkers blog jody. Vertical thinking is distinguished by the fact that it is linear, while on the. We generally learn in sequence, and organize in the same type of order as most everyone else like filing things according to name, subject or date so our lives are less cluttered and. How does critical differ from analytical or lateral thinking.
Three switches outside a windowless room are connected to three light bulbs inside the room. Our way of thinking decides how we perceive the world around us. Differences between vertical and lateral thinking memorise. Linear thinking verses lateral thinking incisive observations. The linear thinker moves one mental step at a time down the path of logic, consuming and digesting each piece of information before moving to the next. Youll learn what the phrase means, explore some of the basic theory behind it, and see a few examples of lateral thinking. As a noun lateral is an object, such as a passage or a protrusion, that is situated on the side of something else. This saying is often applied to life and the world in general, it also applies in the world of success and life change. Learning outcomes lateral thinking potential genesis. Lateral thinking is a method of solving problems by using your imagination to help you. Linear thinking is based on logic, rules and rationality or sustained reason to solve a problem. It is easy to see from the example above that lateral thinking comes into play when solving crimes. This book and its concepts should be introduced in our primary education system and kids should be taught to inculcate lateral thinking in heir day by day world. Vertical thinking is distinguished as something that is linear, while on the other hand lateral thinking can be seen as non linear.
It encourages one to delve into more of a creative form of reasoning. Programmed thinking versus lateral thinking another way to think of brainstorming is to understand what its not and how it differs from something we do often in our day to day jobs programmed thinking. What is the difference between linear and nonlinear thinking. As such, its nearly impossible for us to fathom the implications of exponential change. Lateral thinking is about the breadth of knowledge, not the depth of expertise. Complimenting the use of logical vertical thinking, lateral thinking can be used to. Thought processes may be divided into vertical linear thinking which uses the process of logical reasoning to follow a welldefined path, or. Lateral thinking is when you think outside of the box.
Lateral thinking definition and meaning collins english. Systems thinking, design thinking, strategic thinking. Whereas linear logic is useful in certain areas of the thinking process, it is almost entirely left brain based, allowing little room for the functioning of the right brain, the seat of creativity. Questions tagged lateral thinking ask question a puzzle solved through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable only using logic. Most people default to a linear thinking approach in everyday problem solving. Published on november, 2014 november, 2014 31 likes 9 comments. Linear thinking is the process by which linear thinkers put things in order as they experience them and how they express them. Linear thinkers put things in order as they experience them in a sequential manner, like a straight line. It is a function of lateral thinking to free information by challenging cliche patterns. Lateral thinking instead focuses on thought driven by a more indirect approach.
Break down the no barrier the mind can reject any concept it wishes. One question we often ask ourselves in ghost writer hub is what kind of creative exercises could we use to enhance lateral thinking. Lateral thinking offers a somewhat structured way to generate new ideas, while creative thinking opens the door to all possibilities. The addition of lateral thinking to our toolbox of cognitive tools is an important and crucial one. Lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. As the author of teach like a pirate, dave burgess, has stated, creativity is making stuff. The differences between lateral thinking, parallel thinking. I realize i just wrote the same thing again in slightly different words. Through this method, both lateral and vertical thinking are more likely than others. The science of lateral thinking and millions of other books are available for.
Have you ever met someone who is so bound to critical and linear thinking that any thought of something chaotic supernormal. Newest lateralthinking questions puzzling stack exchange. Lateral thinking 01 a man in a lift a man lives on the tenth floor of a building. In brief, lateral thinking involves looking at problem from a different angle. Defining lateral thinking,parallel thinking, creativity and innovation. Critical thinking isnt the type of thinking needed to make stuff. While critical thinking is needed in identifying and starting to solve problems, lateral and creative thinking help generate multiple, different, and often unexpected solutions.
Lateral thinking isnt something which is usually discussed, not in secondary education or anywhere that ive noticed to be honest. A straight line between two points is the most efficient way to get from one place to another. Activating the power of linear and circular thinking. We shall present to you an understanding of two contrasting ways of thinking linear and non linear thinking. Linear thinkers vs non linear thinkers this conversation came up when i told two people that i have adhd and they brought up the discussion of linear thinking and non linear thinking. He originated the concept of lateral thinking and developed formal techniques for deliberate. Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of statements and seeking errors whereas lateral thinking focuses more on the movement value of statements and ideas. Written by jack foster, a creative director for various advertising agencies with more than 40 years experience, how to get ideas over 90,000 copies sold and translated into 15 languages is a fun. Lateral thinking does not replace logical thinking.
Neither linear or lateral thinking is the right answer for every situation. How lateral thinking can help your career ziprecruiter. Critical thinking vs lateral thinking whoiscaseymarshall. Imagine two managers who are responsible for product development and innovation management in their companies. The writing is incredibly dry, but the material is well worth the effort. Heres a quiz from the university of kent thats kind of fun. Mark mcguinness over at lateral action has a great post titled is lateral thinking necessary for creativity. As adjectives the difference between lateral and linear is that lateral is to the side. What are analytical, critical and lateral thinking skills.
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