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Lateral Thinking
THE classic work about improving creativity from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono.
In schools we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. What then?
Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination. Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways.
Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.
In schools we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. What then?
Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination. Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways.
Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.
272 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1991
1,068 people are currently reading
11k people want to read
About the author
Edward de Bono
218books1,128followersEdward de Bono was a Maltese physician, author, inventor, and consultant. He is best known as the originator of the term lateral thinking (structured creativity) and the leading proponent of the deliberate teaching of thinking in schools.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews
April 29, 2021
"Limits are usually self-imposed."
"Often even a minor change in the way a thing is looked at can make a huge difference."
Lately, I find myself looking at self-help books more and more skeptically, especially when titles tend to make bold declarations. 'Creativity Step by Step' is one of those titles, but after having Lateral Thinking for a long time on my TBR shelf, I finally decided to give this a try. Though I'm having some mixed feelings now, I'm happy to say, overall, it was time well spent. I'm rounding off what felt like a 3.5-star read to 4.
"Vertical thinking is immensely useful but one needs to enhance its usefulness by adding creativity and tempering its rigidity."
Before diving in to particulars, this book is intended for educators, as the author clearly attempts explain during introductory chapter. I'm not one. However, the first chapter was intriguing enough to kept me going. Until now, I only imagined that one's way of thinking is a combination of logical, creative, and emotional aspects: I haven't really thought about specifics related to each component before. But this book introduces a very clear distinction to separate the 'creative' and 'logical' aspects of thinking, which are referred to as 'lateral thinking' and 'vertical thinking'. And it's the 'lateral thinking' that is directly responsible for generation of creative solutions.
"Insight, creativity and humor are so elusive because the mind is so efficient."
The content is arranged more like a teacher's guide book, with first part of each section explaining the theory, and then followed by practice methods. I did feel some of the content were a little too repetitive, but it appears that the author expected that the reader would be using this as a frequent reference book, when practicing or teaching lateral thinking. In that case, any teacher would find the book quite helpful.
"Exclusive emphasis on the need to be right all the time completely shuts off creativity and progress."
"Lateral thinking enhances the effectiveness of vertical thinking. Vertical thinking develops the ideas generated by lateral thinking."
So, will this book help you enhance creativity? May be a little, by helping identify where vertical thinking becomes limiting, and when to introduce lateral thinking. But the truth is, unless you're a teacher, you'll find the content to be too detailed (and a little boring). I skipped through a lot of practice sections, as they went it too deep about how to handle classroom situations. Still, this book did help me understand several ways to tackle seemingly impossible problems in future. Had I been involved in the field of education, I probably would've found this to be a solid 4-star read.
"Hindsight demonstration of a logical pathway does not indicate that the solution would have been reached in this way."
"Often even a minor change in the way a thing is looked at can make a huge difference."
Lately, I find myself looking at self-help books more and more skeptically, especially when titles tend to make bold declarations. 'Creativity Step by Step' is one of those titles, but after having Lateral Thinking for a long time on my TBR shelf, I finally decided to give this a try. Though I'm having some mixed feelings now, I'm happy to say, overall, it was time well spent. I'm rounding off what felt like a 3.5-star read to 4.
"Vertical thinking is immensely useful but one needs to enhance its usefulness by adding creativity and tempering its rigidity."
Before diving in to particulars, this book is intended for educators, as the author clearly attempts explain during introductory chapter. I'm not one. However, the first chapter was intriguing enough to kept me going. Until now, I only imagined that one's way of thinking is a combination of logical, creative, and emotional aspects: I haven't really thought about specifics related to each component before. But this book introduces a very clear distinction to separate the 'creative' and 'logical' aspects of thinking, which are referred to as 'lateral thinking' and 'vertical thinking'. And it's the 'lateral thinking' that is directly responsible for generation of creative solutions.
"Insight, creativity and humor are so elusive because the mind is so efficient."
The content is arranged more like a teacher's guide book, with first part of each section explaining the theory, and then followed by practice methods. I did feel some of the content were a little too repetitive, but it appears that the author expected that the reader would be using this as a frequent reference book, when practicing or teaching lateral thinking. In that case, any teacher would find the book quite helpful.
"Exclusive emphasis on the need to be right all the time completely shuts off creativity and progress."
"Lateral thinking enhances the effectiveness of vertical thinking. Vertical thinking develops the ideas generated by lateral thinking."
So, will this book help you enhance creativity? May be a little, by helping identify where vertical thinking becomes limiting, and when to introduce lateral thinking. But the truth is, unless you're a teacher, you'll find the content to be too detailed (and a little boring). I skipped through a lot of practice sections, as they went it too deep about how to handle classroom situations. Still, this book did help me understand several ways to tackle seemingly impossible problems in future. Had I been involved in the field of education, I probably would've found this to be a solid 4-star read.
"Hindsight demonstration of a logical pathway does not indicate that the solution would have been reached in this way."
May 4, 2015
Firstly, putting my status as finished is a fib, because I only got half way through before I had to abandon this book. It is so boring I fell asleep reading it when I wasn't even tired. 90% of the content is a smug, self-congratulatory ramble about how great lateral thinking is, using different metaphors to explain exactly the same thing. The remaining 10% actually describes ways to use lateral thinking, but the dullest manner imaginable. I know improving your lateral thinking skills requires more effort than solving a few puzzles, but this book fails to engage or inspire you on this quest. I would have given it 1 star, but as I only read half way, I gave it the benefit of the doubt that it would improve. A shame, because I really would like to improve my lateral thinking skills, but this is not the book for me.
March 16, 2019
«Le nuove idee sono la sostanza del cambiamento e del progresso in ogni campo, dalla scienza all’arte, dalla politica alla felicità personale».
Edward de Bono
Il pensiero laterale è in stretta relazione con l’intuizione, la creatività e lo humour.
Nella quarta di copertina, questo libro viene definito un vero e proprio “manuale dell’invenzione e della fantasia� , orientato in particolare verso gli insegnanti che vogliano stimolare tale capacità nei loro studenti.
de Bono ci parlerà della differenza tra il pensiero laterale ed il pensiero verticale, della generazione di alternative, della sospensione del giudizio e della progettazione, di come mettere in discussione i presupposti �
«Problema: Un uomo lavorava in un alto edificio per uffici. Ogni mattina prendeva l'ascensore al pianterreno, premeva il bottone dell'ascensore per il decimo piano, usciva dall'ascensore e saliva fino al quindicesimo piano. Alla sera avrebbe poi preso l'ascensore al quindicesimo piano uscendone al pianterreno. Perché si comportava così?
Le spiegazioni fornite sono varie:
L'uomo voleva tenersi in esercizio.
Voleva conversare con qualcuno salendo dal decimo al quindicesimo piano.
Voleva ammirare il panorama mentre saliva.
Voleva far credere alla gente che lavorava al decimo piano (che poteva essere più prestigioso) eccetera.
In realtà l'uomo agiva in questo modo particolare perché non aveva scelta. Era un nano e non riusciva a raggiungere i bottoni più alti del decimo piano. Il presupposto naturale è che l’uomo sia perfettamente normale e che sia il suo comportamento a essere anormale.»
E ancora di brainstorming e problem solving, di idee dominanti e fattori cruciali e del metodo dell� inversione �
«Un gregge di pecore procedeva lentamente lungo una strada di campagna che era costeggiata da alte scarpate. Un automobilista frettoloso seguiva il gregge e sollecitava il pastore a sospingere il suo gregge sul lato affinché la macchina potesse procedere oltre. Il pastore rifiutò perché non poteva essere sicuro di tenere le pecore alla larga dall'auto in una strada così stretta, però invertì la situazione. Disse all'auto di fermarsi e poi tranquillamente fece invertire la marcia al gregge e lo guidò dietro il veicolo in sosta. Nella favola di Esopo l'acqua nella brocca era a un livello troppo basso perché l'uccello potesse berla. L'uccello stava pensando come tirar fuori l'acqua dalla brocca, poi ritenne invece più conveniente metterci qualcosa dentro. Così gettò dei sassi nella brocca finché il livello dell'acqua non si alzò abbastanza da consentirgli di bere.»
Poche pagine, ma ricchissime di suggerimenti e spunti di riflessione.
Il pensiero laterale è in stretta relazione con l’intuizione, la creatività e lo humour.
Nella quarta di copertina, questo libro viene definito un vero e proprio “manuale dell’invenzione e della fantasia� , orientato in particolare verso gli insegnanti che vogliano stimolare tale capacità nei loro studenti.
de Bono ci parlerà della differenza tra il pensiero laterale ed il pensiero verticale, della generazione di alternative, della sospensione del giudizio e della progettazione, di come mettere in discussione i presupposti �
«Problema: Un uomo lavorava in un alto edificio per uffici. Ogni mattina prendeva l'ascensore al pianterreno, premeva il bottone dell'ascensore per il decimo piano, usciva dall'ascensore e saliva fino al quindicesimo piano. Alla sera avrebbe poi preso l'ascensore al quindicesimo piano uscendone al pianterreno. Perché si comportava così?
Le spiegazioni fornite sono varie:
L'uomo voleva tenersi in esercizio.
Voleva conversare con qualcuno salendo dal decimo al quindicesimo piano.
Voleva ammirare il panorama mentre saliva.
Voleva far credere alla gente che lavorava al decimo piano (che poteva essere più prestigioso) eccetera.
In realtà l'uomo agiva in questo modo particolare perché non aveva scelta. Era un nano e non riusciva a raggiungere i bottoni più alti del decimo piano. Il presupposto naturale è che l’uomo sia perfettamente normale e che sia il suo comportamento a essere anormale.»
E ancora di brainstorming e problem solving, di idee dominanti e fattori cruciali e del metodo dell� inversione �
«Un gregge di pecore procedeva lentamente lungo una strada di campagna che era costeggiata da alte scarpate. Un automobilista frettoloso seguiva il gregge e sollecitava il pastore a sospingere il suo gregge sul lato affinché la macchina potesse procedere oltre. Il pastore rifiutò perché non poteva essere sicuro di tenere le pecore alla larga dall'auto in una strada così stretta, però invertì la situazione. Disse all'auto di fermarsi e poi tranquillamente fece invertire la marcia al gregge e lo guidò dietro il veicolo in sosta. Nella favola di Esopo l'acqua nella brocca era a un livello troppo basso perché l'uccello potesse berla. L'uccello stava pensando come tirar fuori l'acqua dalla brocca, poi ritenne invece più conveniente metterci qualcosa dentro. Così gettò dei sassi nella brocca finché il livello dell'acqua non si alzò abbastanza da consentirgli di bere.»
Poche pagine, ma ricchissime di suggerimenti e spunti di riflessione.
December 14, 2015
Only read this if you want to verbalise De Bono congratulatorily masturbating to himself.
March 22, 2015
أنت و أنا نضع لمساتنا على حياتنا من خلال أفكارنا الجديدة ، ماء الأمر في هذا الكتاب هو أن تبقى منفتح على كل إحتمالية منخفضة ( التفكير الجانبي ) في حلك لمشكلاتك وقضاياك عوضًا عن اللجوء للإحتمالية العليا ( التفكير العمودي ) ، قضيتك وقضيتي بعد الإنتهاء من قراءة الكتاب ستكون : منح كل فكرة جديدة ستخطر على بالك الأهلية لتنافس في سوق الأفكار الراكدة المعدومة المرونة التي نعايشه ونتوارثه... وكذلك كل فكرة تستحق أن نبحث عنها بطريقة أنيقة مبتكرة
ليست المرة الأولى لي في الإطلاع على فِكر إدوارد دي بونو، حيث طُبق برنامج الكورت للتفكير الذي ألفه دي بونو على مستوى مدارس البحرين لتوسعة آفاق الطلبة الموهوبين و تنويع مداركهم و تعزيز ملكة الإبتكار لديهم ، أطلعت عليه بشكل -مختصر- و هالني حجم الضيق الفكري الذي ننتهجه في الحياة في أدق و أكبر معاملاتنا حتى أبسطها وأتفهها فالتفكير المنطقي الذي يريد كسر قيوده يبدو عادة متأصلة فينا وأول خيار آمن لنا، هو مهرب أمثل من تعاريج البحث عن الحل ، ربما يرافق الإخفاق ٩٩٪ من عمليات البحث تلك لكن الإعتياد عليها هو مغنم لمنتهجها على المدى الطويل.
- مقتطفات-
- ليس التفكير الجانبي إلهامًا بل هو وعيٌ و ممارسة .
- ليس التفكير الجانبي خلطة سرّية يتناولها الشخص فيستفيد منها، إنها موقف وعادة عقلية .
- ليس التفكير الجانبي شكلاً سحريًا جديدًا بل طريقة أكثرإبداعية في استخدام العقل.
- من السهل أن ينجرف الإنسان مع تيار الإحتمالية العليا ويحرم نفسه من فوائد التفكير الجانبي لأنه غير مهتم بالأفكار الجديدة، لكن هل هو مستعد لقبول قيود التفكير العمودي ؟ يحرم عموديو التفكير أنفسهم من الجانب العملي للتفكير الجانبي بالإظافة أنهم يجلبون لأنفسهم سلبيات إتباع الإحتمالية العليا.
- من السهل توقع ما سيفعله عموديو التفكير .
- يعتبر أصحاب عموديو التفكير الحل الجانبي شكلاً من أشكال الغش .
Read
February 4, 2011To me, the crux of this book might be summed up in an epigram that appears in the book. I don't remember it exactly, but the basic premise is that logic can dig a very deep hole--but you won't strike water until you use lateral thinking to decide where to PUT the hole.
It reminds me of my experiences with school systems that encourage rote learning. When I first went to such a school, I was extremely impressed by how quickly and thoroughly most of the students were able to memorize things. I've always memorized laboriously, and retained little. I continued being impressed until I brought a problem to some of them. "Look." I said "If you change this, and bring that in, doesn't that imply this result?" They looked at me as if I were speaking Sanskrit. Further questioning revealed that they had memorized the formulae, and could apply them without difficulty--but they couldn't understand what the formulae MEANT, or how they were arrived at, or could be changed.
This book is simply a starter for people who want to LEARN rather than memorize. To use Ms Frizzle's line from The Magic School Bus, "Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy." Once you grasp the principle, the rest of the book is mostly exercises and illustrations. Useful, but you could develop your own--and probably should.
It reminds me of my experiences with school systems that encourage rote learning. When I first went to such a school, I was extremely impressed by how quickly and thoroughly most of the students were able to memorize things. I've always memorized laboriously, and retained little. I continued being impressed until I brought a problem to some of them. "Look." I said "If you change this, and bring that in, doesn't that imply this result?" They looked at me as if I were speaking Sanskrit. Further questioning revealed that they had memorized the formulae, and could apply them without difficulty--but they couldn't understand what the formulae MEANT, or how they were arrived at, or could be changed.
This book is simply a starter for people who want to LEARN rather than memorize. To use Ms Frizzle's line from The Magic School Bus, "Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy." Once you grasp the principle, the rest of the book is mostly exercises and illustrations. Useful, but you could develop your own--and probably should.
Read
May 12, 2008I've always wanted to improve my lateral thinking skills. I guess some childish part of me was hoping for instant gratification, read this book and bing! you're a lateral thinker. Of course not. It's something you need to work on everyday, even for 5 minutes a day (add that to the list of things you should be doing everyday even for five minutes, stretching, meditating, napping, etc). I guess the book was OK, got a little bored wading through the exercises [these are suggestions for a tacher, and not quite optimised for solo work, though you could probably work that out for yourself].
The chapter on the word 'Po' infuriated me, I must add. Artificialness of it grated very strongly my nerves, so much so that I wanted to toss the book (library book!) out the bus window.
But then he follows up with a very nice chapter on being 'blocked by openness'... having these blind spots that come from your suboptimal solution work.
Notes to future eric: difference between vertical (logical) and lateral thinking like difference between depth first and breadth first search? or hill climbing vs mutation? You need both. Clichés are useful. Self-reinforcing patterns and laziness (vertical) are good! You can sit around disrupting all day, otherwise you never get things done... that said, sometimes you do need to shake things up, pop yourself out of a dead-end, and that's where lateral thinking comes in useful. It's not about right or wrong, just about different, generating alternatives. Use vertical thinking later to sift through the crap. Suspending judgment.
Hang on to the blocked-by-openness thing.
Argh, now I'm frustrated. I wish I could attend a lateral thinking class, or read something not written by De Bono (and not something fluffy-markety either)
The chapter on the word 'Po' infuriated me, I must add. Artificialness of it grated very strongly my nerves, so much so that I wanted to toss the book (library book!) out the bus window.
But then he follows up with a very nice chapter on being 'blocked by openness'... having these blind spots that come from your suboptimal solution work.
Notes to future eric: difference between vertical (logical) and lateral thinking like difference between depth first and breadth first search? or hill climbing vs mutation? You need both. Clichés are useful. Self-reinforcing patterns and laziness (vertical) are good! You can sit around disrupting all day, otherwise you never get things done... that said, sometimes you do need to shake things up, pop yourself out of a dead-end, and that's where lateral thinking comes in useful. It's not about right or wrong, just about different, generating alternatives. Use vertical thinking later to sift through the crap. Suspending judgment.
Hang on to the blocked-by-openness thing.
Argh, now I'm frustrated. I wish I could attend a lateral thinking class, or read something not written by De Bono (and not something fluffy-markety either)
March 14, 2015
حينما كنتُ أبحثُ عن ترجماتِ "الغصن الذهبي" قادني البحثُ إلى ترجمةِ نايف الخوص، ومن نايف الخوص وصلتُ إلى ترجمتِه لكتاب إدوارد ديبونو "التفكير الجانبي" فعالَم الكتبِ عالمٌ غريبٌ يجر بعضُه بعضا فكل كتابٍ يجر أخاه، فهي شبكةٌ كشبكةِ العنكبوتِ.
التفكيرُ الجانبي يعنى بطريقةِ تفكيرٍ مختلفةٍ للأمورِ فهي عكسُ ونقيضُ التفكيرِ العمودي الذي يفكرُ في الأمرِ بطريقةٍ منطقية،ٍ وفي النهايةِ يسعى إلى أنتاجِ أفكارٍ سمتها أنها جديدةٌ وبسيطةٌ وفعالةٌ ويضربُ على ذلك ديبونو أمثلةً كثيرةً تولدتْ بفعلِ هذا التفكيرِ الجانبي.
التفكيرُ الجانبي يعنى بطريقةِ تفكيرٍ مختلفةٍ للأمورِ فهي عكسُ ونقيضُ التفكيرِ العمودي الذي يفكرُ في الأمرِ بطريقةٍ منطقية،ٍ وفي النهايةِ يسعى إلى أنتاجِ أفكارٍ سمتها أنها جديدةٌ وبسيطةٌ وفعالةٌ ويضربُ على ذلك ديبونو أمثلةً كثيرةً تولدتْ بفعلِ هذا التفكيرِ الجانبي.
July 21, 2010
Interesting book, offering some processes to generate ideas and solve problems.
To me, the main point of the book is to see problems and solutions as patterns, so after you recognize a pattern you can break/rearrange to form new patterns (or new solutions).
The author argues that ideas should not be discarded, no matter how ridiculous they seem. Even the most outrageous ideas can provide insights about a problem. It's not important to be right all along the problem solving process, it's only important to be right at the end.
To me, the main point of the book is to see problems and solutions as patterns, so after you recognize a pattern you can break/rearrange to form new patterns (or new solutions).
The author argues that ideas should not be discarded, no matter how ridiculous they seem. Even the most outrageous ideas can provide insights about a problem. It's not important to be right all along the problem solving process, it's only important to be right at the end.
January 25, 2018
“How do I love thee, let me count the ways�... apparently, there were a lot of ways for this author to explain Lateral Thinking and its techniques over and over and over...and over. I feel if this book was shorter by 100 pages it would’ve delivered the same content, sheesh...
Lateral thinking is an alternative way of thinking that leaves some room for incorrect ideas to surface without being judged or shut down before their time. We tend to think in a structured way in order to find the correct path towards the answer. But with lateral thinking, the purpose is finding something interesting and eventually getting to an answer regardless of the path we took to get there.
The book is good at explaining what vertical and lateral thinking are and how they differ from each other, and it provides some techniques to facilitate lateral thinking along with practices to actually try out those techniques.
Let’s start with the good stuff. I loved the analogies the author made to explain the concept of lateral and vertical thinking, it simplified how the brain processes information and the possible limitations it entails. I also appreciated some of the techniques presented to practice lateral thinking, even though some of them are common sense and we just need to be conscious of them when needed.
What I didn’t like was the practices that seemed to be too distant from being practical and for me, it didn’t serve me much other than to actually get a better grasp of the techniques they represent. The other MAJOR disappointment and the main reason this book got a 2 was the amount of redundant information.
Overall, I find it quite difficult to recommend this book to anyone with the amount of time you’ll have to waste in order to get to the meat of things, but if you’re working in a creative field I would say let go of your perfectionist and skim through it.
Key Takeaways:
1. The way the mind works is by trying to fit pieces of information into an already known pattern thus the order in which you receive information matters and shifts your way of thinking.
2. Vertical thinking is focused on what is correct and the best while avoiding making mistakes. Lateral thinking suspends judgment and generative.
3. Challenging assumptions can be difficult but it comes with practice, one method that can be applied is the 5 why’s.
4. Design is a problem-solving technique that shy’s away from cliches.
5. Acknowledging dominant ideas and their boundaries helps in loosening things up and going in a different direction.
6. When dealing with concepts and rules reverse and reorder the information to challenge the preconception.
7. The usefulness of generated ideas from brainstorming can be immediate (solution), generate new ideas, or for reframing the problem.
8. Our perception can be polar (black.vs.white) and tends to categorize things which can be limiting.
9. Our perception can be blocked when things are unseen/blocked/adequate (good enough) which stops us from going further and exploring additional solutions.
Lateral thinking is an alternative way of thinking that leaves some room for incorrect ideas to surface without being judged or shut down before their time. We tend to think in a structured way in order to find the correct path towards the answer. But with lateral thinking, the purpose is finding something interesting and eventually getting to an answer regardless of the path we took to get there.
The book is good at explaining what vertical and lateral thinking are and how they differ from each other, and it provides some techniques to facilitate lateral thinking along with practices to actually try out those techniques.
Let’s start with the good stuff. I loved the analogies the author made to explain the concept of lateral and vertical thinking, it simplified how the brain processes information and the possible limitations it entails. I also appreciated some of the techniques presented to practice lateral thinking, even though some of them are common sense and we just need to be conscious of them when needed.
What I didn’t like was the practices that seemed to be too distant from being practical and for me, it didn’t serve me much other than to actually get a better grasp of the techniques they represent. The other MAJOR disappointment and the main reason this book got a 2 was the amount of redundant information.
Overall, I find it quite difficult to recommend this book to anyone with the amount of time you’ll have to waste in order to get to the meat of things, but if you’re working in a creative field I would say let go of your perfectionist and skim through it.
Key Takeaways:
1. The way the mind works is by trying to fit pieces of information into an already known pattern thus the order in which you receive information matters and shifts your way of thinking.
2. Vertical thinking is focused on what is correct and the best while avoiding making mistakes. Lateral thinking suspends judgment and generative.
3. Challenging assumptions can be difficult but it comes with practice, one method that can be applied is the 5 why’s.
4. Design is a problem-solving technique that shy’s away from cliches.
5. Acknowledging dominant ideas and their boundaries helps in loosening things up and going in a different direction.
6. When dealing with concepts and rules reverse and reorder the information to challenge the preconception.
7. The usefulness of generated ideas from brainstorming can be immediate (solution), generate new ideas, or for reframing the problem.
8. Our perception can be polar (black.vs.white) and tends to categorize things which can be limiting.
9. Our perception can be blocked when things are unseen/blocked/adequate (good enough) which stops us from going further and exploring additional solutions.
November 25, 2012
Everyone is born creative. Creativity can't be learned, but it involves unlearning some of the approaches we learned as part of education.
This book explains the process which helps in improving creativity. This is must read for professionals who solves many technical problems day to day and also for college students to have a successful career.
This book explains the process which helps in improving creativity. This is must read for professionals who solves many technical problems day to day and also for college students to have a successful career.
January 17, 2017
نحتاج كثيراً إلى إيجاد الحلول الأخرى غير المتاحة وغير السائدة، لا لكي نصل فقط إلى مرحلة التخلص من مشاكلنا، بل فوق ذلك لكي نتخلص منها بكثير من الإبداع
هذا الكتاب يتيح لك الوصول إلى تلك المرحلة
كتاب جاء في وقته المناسب
هذا الكتاب يتيح لك الوصول إلى تلك المرحلة
كتاب جاء في وقته المناسب
October 22, 2022
Empecé a leer este libro porque en tiktok vi como lo relacionaban con Death Note, o sea, todo el método de deducción y análisis que usaba L se puede encontrar aquí... Sin embargo, esperaba algo muchísimo mejor, creo que el hype me engatuzo.
No diré que el libro es malo, simplemente es simple, te dice cosas que de alguna forma u otra tu piensas, claro, he aprendido algunas cositas también y esas mismas cosas me hacen preguntar lo siguiente ¿Realmente tenemos límites o son impuesto por nosotros mismos? Waoo, la idea de pensar que no hay límite alguno para conseguir las cosas me parece un tanto optimista, me causa conflicto porque soy de los que creen en los límites, aunque el libro no se enfoca en hablar de límites en general, más bien para buscar soluciones y sacar conclusiones, porque Miren a L, a pesar de que sea una historia ficticia con un personaje en base a todo lo que dice este libro (según palabras del tiktoker) no pudo derrotar a su rival Kira, a pesar de que tenía muchas sospechas y ni una prueba definitiva e incluso llegó a conocer sobre un poder divino, aún así murió, no logró su objetivo porque tenía un límite, sin embargo ¿el límite era natural o el mismo L puso sus propios límites al saber que se enfrentaba contra algo divino?
Me encanta como hago un análisis de un anime para demostrar algo de un libro, bueno, yo sigo creyendo que los límites si existen y que también hay personas que ponen sus propios límites, el libro solamente se va por negar lo primero en parte. En fin, hay que darlo todo para conseguir lo que se quiere, aunque no todo lo que se quiere se consigue 🚬
No diré que el libro es malo, simplemente es simple, te dice cosas que de alguna forma u otra tu piensas, claro, he aprendido algunas cositas también y esas mismas cosas me hacen preguntar lo siguiente ¿Realmente tenemos límites o son impuesto por nosotros mismos? Waoo, la idea de pensar que no hay límite alguno para conseguir las cosas me parece un tanto optimista, me causa conflicto porque soy de los que creen en los límites, aunque el libro no se enfoca en hablar de límites en general, más bien para buscar soluciones y sacar conclusiones, porque Miren a L, a pesar de que sea una historia ficticia con un personaje en base a todo lo que dice este libro (según palabras del tiktoker) no pudo derrotar a su rival Kira, a pesar de que tenía muchas sospechas y ni una prueba definitiva e incluso llegó a conocer sobre un poder divino, aún así murió, no logró su objetivo porque tenía un límite, sin embargo ¿el límite era natural o el mismo L puso sus propios límites al saber que se enfrentaba contra algo divino?
Me encanta como hago un análisis de un anime para demostrar algo de un libro, bueno, yo sigo creyendo que los límites si existen y que también hay personas que ponen sus propios límites, el libro solamente se va por negar lo primero en parte. En fin, hay que darlo todo para conseguir lo que se quiere, aunque no todo lo que se quiere se consigue 🚬
April 18, 2009
This book starts with a dilemma faced by a pretty merchant's daughter confronted by her father's nasty creditor. The creditor says he will settle the issue with a game of chance. Where they stand are white and black stones. he will put two stones in a bag and she will draw one out. A white stone means the debt is settled, a black stone means the debt is settled but she must marry the money-lender. Our heroine notices that the money lender puts two black stones in the bag. So whatever she chooses she is in a fix. And if she demonstrates he is cheating then he will just ruin her father. So she . . . uses lateral thinking. (You need to look at the book to see what she does, I won't spoil it.)
De Bono likes to point out that this phrase - lateral thinking - was coined by him and is now in the Oxford dictionary. Why he should worry that people do not realise he invented the idea I don't know - his books have allowed him to buy a whole island near Venice apparently, which can't be bad.
De Bono likes to point out that this phrase - lateral thinking - was coined by him and is now in the Oxford dictionary. Why he should worry that people do not realise he invented the idea I don't know - his books have allowed him to buy a whole island near Venice apparently, which can't be bad.
June 1, 2008
The basis of Edward De bonos theory of thinking 'lateral' or in essense, more broadly. This was one of the first of Edward De bono's books that I read. Great read. In his efforts to explain complex theorys, he uses insightful abstract comparisons that his theorys have with tangible objects. Love it
March 30, 2019
Being creative is a process, seeing through different lenses and different ways of using information. Also most importantly practice. Good one.
July 23, 2022
Throughout our education, we are accustomed to think in linear or vertical manner.
If a => b, and b => c, then a =>c. There can't be any ambiguity in this.
Vertical thinking is logical and relies on 'the more you know, the better you get in solving the problem'. This approach help us most of the problems that normally are end of our Mathematics and Science books in school.
However, as we come outside of our school campuses and step into the dog eat dog world, linear thinking doesn't take us far. The problems we face in our professional and personal lives are never straight forward. There is never a right or wrong answer, that can solve these practical issues.
Lateral Thinking, expounded by the world-renowned philosopher and writer in this classic book, comes to the rescue. According to Bono, lateral thinking is creative and relies on 'thinking in an explorative manner to find different possibilities'.
Vertical thinking is concerned with digging the same hole deeper. Lateral thinking is concerned with digging the holes at multiple places to see if we can get better results elsewhere.
It is wrong to think that lateral thinking is the be-all and end-all of all possible problems in the world. Sometimes logical and linear thinking too could prove to be much effective when lateral thinking goes tangential. I believe, vertical thinking and lateral thinking complement each other.
As students of life, we need to master both.
If a => b, and b => c, then a =>c. There can't be any ambiguity in this.
Vertical thinking is logical and relies on 'the more you know, the better you get in solving the problem'. This approach help us most of the problems that normally are end of our Mathematics and Science books in school.
However, as we come outside of our school campuses and step into the dog eat dog world, linear thinking doesn't take us far. The problems we face in our professional and personal lives are never straight forward. There is never a right or wrong answer, that can solve these practical issues.
Lateral Thinking, expounded by the world-renowned philosopher and writer in this classic book, comes to the rescue. According to Bono, lateral thinking is creative and relies on 'thinking in an explorative manner to find different possibilities'.
Vertical thinking is concerned with digging the same hole deeper. Lateral thinking is concerned with digging the holes at multiple places to see if we can get better results elsewhere.
It is wrong to think that lateral thinking is the be-all and end-all of all possible problems in the world. Sometimes logical and linear thinking too could prove to be much effective when lateral thinking goes tangential. I believe, vertical thinking and lateral thinking complement each other.
As students of life, we need to master both.
August 4, 2007
Reading Notes :
1 the way mind works
2 difference between lateral and vertical thinking
3 attitudes towards lateral thinking
4 basic nature of lateral thinking
5 the use of lateral thinking
6 techniques
7
8 generation of alternatives
9 innovation
10
11
12 dominant ideas and crucial factors
13 fractionation
14 reversal method
1 the way mind works
2 difference between lateral and vertical thinking
3 attitudes towards lateral thinking
4 basic nature of lateral thinking
5 the use of lateral thinking
6 techniques
7
8 generation of alternatives
9 innovation
10
11
12 dominant ideas and crucial factors
13 fractionation
14 reversal method
December 25, 2020
This was one of the most valuable books I read all year. It has certain problems (one of which is the author's inability to [see the rest of this review .]
February 25, 2021
O carte greu de urmarit pana la final, insa foarte utila pt cei care activeaza in domenii creative (design, arhitectura, software testing etc) ori in educatie. Daca in capitolele introductive se prezinta ce este si ce nu este gandirea laterala, in capitolul despre cuvantul PO se prezinta tehnicile prin care aceasta poate fi aplicata (as apela in mod special la acest capitol pt a-mi reaminti cum poate fi folosita gandirea laterala).
January 31, 2018
The idea could potentially help you to 10X your current performance because it will help you to zoom out and break/surpass what is holding you back.
A very interesting read on a different way of thinking. If you consider yourself a logical thinker you might hate this or you might find this one of the best reads of your life. It is designed to help teachers but does also give students and beginners plenty of material to work with.
My friend who suggested this told me to read it over a few years. And so I did. There is a lot of good stuff in it and in order to process a lot of it, you will need to read it over time.
A very interesting read on a different way of thinking. If you consider yourself a logical thinker you might hate this or you might find this one of the best reads of your life. It is designed to help teachers but does also give students and beginners plenty of material to work with.
My friend who suggested this told me to read it over a few years. And so I did. There is a lot of good stuff in it and in order to process a lot of it, you will need to read it over time.
February 21, 2017
As much as we think logically and vertically in life, there comes a time when those techniques just won't be good enough to solve your problem.
Enter lateral thinking. 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.
This book and it's concepts should be introduced in our primary education system and kids should be taught to inculcate lateral thinking in heir day by day world.
A good book to read and understand buy at your own pace.
Enter lateral thinking. 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.
This book and it's concepts should be introduced in our primary education system and kids should be taught to inculcate lateral thinking in heir day by day world.
A good book to read and understand buy at your own pace.
November 24, 2017
A brilliant book that taught me how to think outside the box. As a child of the 80s education system that was all rote and assembly line methodology. This book really showed me how to step out of that mold and helped me break down the walls that I was so used to. Taught me to think on an infinite plane, it is daunting trust me!
July 19, 2020
At school, the emphasis has always been on logical sequential thinking, while creativity is vaguely encouraged but mostly perceived as a mysterious, innate talent. In this book, the author creates a clear distinction between logical and lateral thinking. He emphasises on the importance of lateral thinking in problem solving and in generation of new ideas. The book teaches some practical techniques that can be used in idea generation process and enhance creativity.
The most valuable lesson for me personally was the suspension of judgment during the early generative stages of thinking.
Favourite quotes from the book:
"Very often you need to break the old pattern which has been useful and arrange the old information in a new way."
"The purpose of lateral thinking is not to be right but to be effective. Being right means being right all the time. Being effective means being right only at the end."
"A wrong idea at some stage can lead to a right later on."
The most valuable lesson for me personally was the suspension of judgment during the early generative stages of thinking.
Favourite quotes from the book:
"Very often you need to break the old pattern which has been useful and arrange the old information in a new way."
"The purpose of lateral thinking is not to be right but to be effective. Being right means being right all the time. Being effective means being right only at the end."
"A wrong idea at some stage can lead to a right later on."
January 20, 2023
I play Devil's advocate in nearly every situation or thought process so it was great to see it highlighted in the book.
Edward de bono is a familiar face, as someone who studied psychology, this book doesn't suprise me with the concepts but I personally loved the insights drawn on simplifying lateral thinking.
Writing a book on thinking is harder than it looks, but this was a brilliant attempt in outlining the steps one could take in achieving this type of thinking, afterall it's not intelligence dependent.
A great read, quite simple to understand & I would definitely encourage reading it as a basis for considering lateral thinking (It's not a one day wonder miracle, but a continous practice, so don't expect the book to make that happen).
Edward de bono is a familiar face, as someone who studied psychology, this book doesn't suprise me with the concepts but I personally loved the insights drawn on simplifying lateral thinking.
Writing a book on thinking is harder than it looks, but this was a brilliant attempt in outlining the steps one could take in achieving this type of thinking, afterall it's not intelligence dependent.
A great read, quite simple to understand & I would definitely encourage reading it as a basis for considering lateral thinking (It's not a one day wonder miracle, but a continous practice, so don't expect the book to make that happen).
November 3, 2017
¿Qué es lo que tienen en común el humor, la creatividad y el pensamiento lateral? :
La capacidad para romper esquemas mentales previamente hechos.
A pesar de que De Bono es uno de los grandes autores de la creatividad, su propuesta se basa en la forma de romper esquemas mentales para “saber qué pasa� y si esto nos lleva a algún lado.
Este parece un libro un poco redundante, ya que en cada capítulo repite la esencia del pensamiento lateral, sin embargo y como el mismo autor lo menciona, es un libro para leerse por capítulos y de consulta en la enseñanza del pensamiento lateral.
Esto último, indica quiénes son los lectores ideales de esta obra: educadores, maestros y personas interesantes en reestructurar su pensamiento, por lo que al libro se le debe leer evitando juicios precipitados.
Una excelente recomendación para perdonas que se autodenominan “creativas�.
La capacidad para romper esquemas mentales previamente hechos.
A pesar de que De Bono es uno de los grandes autores de la creatividad, su propuesta se basa en la forma de romper esquemas mentales para “saber qué pasa� y si esto nos lleva a algún lado.
Este parece un libro un poco redundante, ya que en cada capítulo repite la esencia del pensamiento lateral, sin embargo y como el mismo autor lo menciona, es un libro para leerse por capítulos y de consulta en la enseñanza del pensamiento lateral.
Esto último, indica quiénes son los lectores ideales de esta obra: educadores, maestros y personas interesantes en reestructurar su pensamiento, por lo que al libro se le debe leer evitando juicios precipitados.
Una excelente recomendación para perdonas que se autodenominan “creativas�.
May 6, 2024
I didn't appreciate this book in the first half. Then I took a break.
By the time I returned to it (after months) and skimmed through what I had already read to refresh my memory, the message must have been digested enough for me to appreciate how profoundly helpful this book can be.
I blazed through the second half in two days, and I know I will return to re-read and actually implement the techniques presented. I can already see ways how some of them can be helpful in my everyday concerns.
By the time I returned to it (after months) and skimmed through what I had already read to refresh my memory, the message must have been digested enough for me to appreciate how profoundly helpful this book can be.
I blazed through the second half in two days, and I know I will return to re-read and actually implement the techniques presented. I can already see ways how some of them can be helpful in my everyday concerns.
September 20, 2020
To be honest, I didn't understand anything from the beginning what the author is trying to describe. From the very beginning, the concepts starts repeating and it turns out to be baffled. It was a mere waste of time. It would be great if the author must have described the terms in a quite relevant way. The language of the book is written in a very mechanical that confuses you to not getting what the book is itself trying to convey. So, I had rated it as 1/5 star.
May 26, 2018
Skim read
September 28, 2018
Thought provoking.
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