Lateral thinking

According to the Oxford English dictionary, Lateral Thinking is “…a way of

thinking which seeks the solution to intractable problems through

unorthodox methods, or elements which would normally be ignored by

logical thinking.

Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono, a Maltese

psychologist, physician, and writer

de Bono defines Lateral Thinking as methods of thinking concerned with

changing concepts and perception.

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Lateral Thinking - Theory

The brain is not intended for creative thinking

The brains power is in forming patterns

and sticking to these patterns

SO

To become creative you need to block

normal channels and “cut across patterns

in a self-organizing information system”

Explaining lateral thinking

Mind is like mud – grooves are formed where water/thoughts run. Need to

form new avenues

“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and

thinking something different” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Nobel Prize Winner

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono, a Maltese

psychologist, physician, and writer

de Bono defines Lateral Thinking as methods of thinking concerned with

changing concepts and perception.

Lateral Thinking Example

It took two hours for two men to dig a

hole five feet deep. How deep would

it have been if ten men had dug the

hole for two hours?

The answer appears to be 25 feet deep

But did you consider…?

A hole may need to be of a certain size or shape so digging might stop early at a required depth.

The deeper a hole is, the more effort is required to dig it, since waste soil needs to be lifted higher to the ground level. There is a limit to how deep a hole can be dug by manpower without use of ladders or hoists for soil removal, and 25 feet is beyond this limit.


Deeper soil layers may be harder to dig out, or we may hit bedrock or the water table.

Are we digging in soil? Clay? Sand? Each presents its own special considerations.

Digging in a forest becomes much easier once we have cut through the first several feet of roots.

Each man digging needs space to use a shovel.


It is possible that with more people working on a project, each person may become less efficient due to increased opportunity for distraction, the assumption he can slack off, more people to talk to, etc.

More men could work in shifts to dig faster for longer.

There are more men but are there more shovels?


The two hours dug by ten men may be under different weather conditions than the two hours dug by two men.

Rain could flood the hole to prevent digging.

Temperature conditions may freeze the men before they finish.

Would we rather have 5 holes each 5 feet deep?


The two men may be an engineering crew with digging machinery.

What if one man in each group is a manager who will not actually dig?

The extra eight men might not be strong enough to dig, or much stronger than the first two.

What is Lateral Thinking?

Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious

Ideas may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

Techniques that apply lateral thinking to problems are characterized by the shifting of thinking patterns away from entrenched or predictable thinking to new or unexpected ideas.

What is Lateral Thinking?

A new idea that is the result of lateral thinking is not always a helpful one

When a good idea is discovered in this way it is usually obvious in hindsight

Lateral Thinking Puzzles

The Surgeon... A father and his son are involved in a car accident, as a result of which the father is very badly injured and his son is rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. However, the surgeon takes one look at the boy and says "I cannot operate on him". When asked why, the surgeon replies "Because he's my son...".

How could this be the case?

Answer: The surgeon is the boy's mother...

Lateral Thinking Puzzles

GOAL

Puzzle # 1

Bottleneck

Put a coin in a bottle and then stop the opening with a cork. How can you get the coin out of the bottle without pulling out the cork or breaking the bottle?

Push the cork into the bottle, and shake the coin out.

Puzzle # 2

Can You Explain?

Question: How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't hit anything, there is nothing attached to it, and no one else catches or throws it?

Answer: Throw the ball straight up in the air.

Puzzle # 3

Can You Explain?

Question: Two students are sitting on opposite sides of the same desk. There is nothing in between them but the desk. Why can't they see each other?

Answer: The two students have their backs to each other.

Puzzle # 4

Can You Explain?

Question: There are only two T's in Timothy Tuttle. True or false?

Answer: True. There are only two T's (upper case). There are also three t's

(lower case).

Puzzle # 5

Question: A man died and went to Heaven. He saw thousands of people there all naked and young. He saw a couple and he immediately recognized them as Adam and Eve. How did he know?

Answer: no navels

Puzzle # 6

Crossing the River

Jake was standing on one side of the river, and his dog Scruffy was

standing on the other side. "Come on Scruffy, come, boy!" shouted Jake.

Scruffy crossed the river, ran to Jake, and got a treat for being a good dog.

The amazing thing was that Scruffy didn't even get wet! How did Scruffy do

that?

Puzzle # 6

Possible Answers:

The river was frozen.

There was a bridge over the river, and Scruffy crossed the bridge.

Puzzle # 7

Getting Younger? In the year 1201, a woman was 35 years old. In the year

1206, the same woman was 30. How is this possible?

Answer: The dates are B.C. rather than A.D.

Puzzle # 7

Getting Younger? In the year 1201, a woman was 35 years old. In the year

1206, the same woman was 30. How is this possible?

Answer: The dates are B.C. rather than A.D.

30 YRS OLD 35 YRS OLD BC AD

1206 1201 0 1201 1206

Puzzle # 8

Name the Dog:

Once a dog named Nelly lived on a farm. There were three other

dogs on the farm. Their names were Blackie, Whitey, and

Brownie. What do you think the fourth dog’s name was?

Answer: Nelly. (If there are only four dogs on the farm, the fourth

one must be Nelly!)

Puzzle # 9

New Shoes:

One day, two mothers and two

daughters went shopping for shoes. Their

shopping spree was successful — each

bought a pair of shoes, and all together,

they had three pairs. How is this possible?

Answer: Only three people went

shopping: a grandmother, a mother, and

a daughter — but remember that the

mother was the grandmother's daughter!

Puzzle # 10

Ups and Downs: A man lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator -- or if it was raining that day -- he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the tenth floor and walks up two flights of stairs to his apartment.

Puzzle # 10

Answer: The man is a dwarf. He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but

he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his

umbrella.

Puzzle # 11

Three Switches and Three Bulbs:

Three switches outside a windowless room are connected to three light bulbs inside the room. How can you determine which switch is connected to which bulb if you may enter the room only once?

Answer: Switch one light on for a minute; turn it off and turn another one on. Go into the room and feel the off-bulbs. The warm one is connected to the first switch, the on-bulb is connected to the second.

Puzzle # 12

Reading Light:

There is a girl reading quietly in a dark room. All the lights are off

and she has no special night vision or anything. How is she

reading?

Answer: The girl is blind, she is reading Braille .

Puzzle # 13

Make a word from boas that can be used to keep you clean.

Puzzle # 14

ALPHABET TICKLE: Take away one of the letters in this grid and yet still leave

all 26 letters of the alphabet. Which letter can be taken away?

Puzzle # 15

Monday: A man rode into town on Monday. He stayed for three nights and

then left on Monday. How come?

Answer: Monday is the name of his horse.

A Chess Piece

Two grandmasters played five games of chess. Each won the same number

of games and lost the same number of games. There were no draws in any

of the games. How could this be so?

A Chess Piece

This is the kind of problem that depends on the

reader or the listener making the wrong

assumptions. Test all the assumptions with questions

like the following:

Q: Were they playing normal chess?

A: yes

Q: In chess, if one player wins then the other loses?

Yes, always.

A Chess Piece

Q: So when one of the grandmasters won a game, the other grandmaster

lost it?

No.

Q: Was there anybody else involved?

Yes.

Let’s see it one more time.

A Chess Piece

Two grandmasters played five games of chess. Each won the same number

of games and lost the same number of games. There were no draws in any

of the games. How could this be so?

Answer: Who said they were playing each other?

Sizzler

I sizzle like bacon.

I’m made with an egg.

I’ve got lots of backbone,

but not even one leg.

I peel like an onion,

yet still remain whole.

I’m long like a fish pole,

but fit in a hole.

(Click for answer)

Sizzler

I sizzle like bacon.

I’m made with an egg.

I’ve got lots of backbone,

but not even one leg.

I peel like an onion,

yet still remain whole.

I’m long like a fish pole,

but fit in a hole.

Exciting!

I start with the letter E.

I end with the letter E.

I usually contain one letter.

But I am not the letter E.

(Click for answer)

Exciting!

I start with the letter E.

I end with the letter E.

I usually contain one letter.

But I am not the letter E.

I am an

envelope

I’m Never Blue

Sometimes I’m green,

sometimes I’m black.

When I’m yellow,

I’m a very nice fellow.

That’s when I’m feeling

mighty a-peeling.

What am I?

(Click for answer)

I’m Never Blue

Sometimes I’m green,

sometimes I’m black.

When I’m yellow,

I’m a very nice fellow.

That’s when I’m feeling

mighty a-peeling.

What am I?

Out of Touch

Hey, What’s up?

They Don’t touch when you say “TOUCH.”

-- but they do touch when you say “SEPARATE.”

What are they?

(Click for answer)

Out of Touch

Hey, What’s up?

They Don’t touch when you say “TOUCH.”

-- but they do touch when you say “SEPARATE.”

What are they?

Your lips

SSSSSSS

What word becomes plural when an “s” is added, but becomes singular

again by adding another “s”?

hint

(Click for answer)

SSSSSSS

What word becomes plural when an “s” is added, but becomes singular

again by adding another “s”?

hintPrince

Princes

Princess

Peanut Riddle

A peanut tree was planted on the west side if a house. The wind is blowing

from the north. When the peanuts fall to the ground, will they fall on the

north or south side of the tree?

(Click for answer)

Peanut Riddle

A peanut tree was planted on the west side if a house. The wind is blowing

from the north. When the peanuts fall to the ground, will they fall on the

north or south side of the tree?

Peanuts don’t grow on trees – they grow under ground

Day by Day

Some months have 30 days; others have 31. How many months have 28

days?

All the months have 28 days.

Lateral thinking

Education

Transcript of Lateral thinking