How Lateral Thinking Can Be Used To Solve Problems
Lateral thinking is a problem solving technique that was developed by Edward de Bono. It can be defined as methods which are used to alter the perception of a problem. Lateral thinking is a technique that requires large amounts of reasoning.
It is a good technique to use in situations where pure logic may not be useful. The goal of using lateral thinking is to move your mind away from thinking which is pragmatic and orthodoxed. People who use lateral thinking tend to come up with unorthodoxed solutions to problems, and they may also be able to make discoveries which were not previously considered.
A good example of someone who used lateral thinking was Albert Einstein. He approached gravity in a way that was unorthodoxed, and was able to come up with two groundbreaking theories because of it. Instead of seeing gravity as a mere attraction between two masses, Einstein saw gravity as being the result of the bending of space that was caused be the presence of massive objects such as planets or stars. This led to him building a theory which was far more efficient than Classical Mechanics, the accepted theory at the time that was produced by Sir Isaac Newton. When this type of problem solving is used, this generally means that the problem being referred to can be solved.
This is important, because it gets rid of situations where there are no problems or the problems which are presented are not feasible to solve. An example of a problem which is not feasible to solve is the simulation theory. This is basically a theory that humans are living in a virtual simulation that is being run by something else. While this theory may be correct, there is no "feasible" way of solving the problem. In other words, there is no way for us to determine whether we are living in a simulation or not. Lateral thinking can be thought of in a quote that was made by the founder Edward de Bono: We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place.
In lateral thinking, the cause of the problem is irrelevant. It is a tool that can be used for more than just solving problems. It will literally move your ideas and perceptions. For example, when most people think about putting square wheels on a car, they think it is a bad idea, because it would lead to a number of mechanical problems. However, by using lateral thinking, someone could say that perhaps a suspension system would be designed that could support a car with square wheels, since all four wheels would have a predictable "bump" as the car moves. As you can see, lateral thinking got rid of the concept that cars with square wheels would have engineering problems.
Lateral thinking is a powerful tool. It is powerful because it basically allows you to think outside of the box. Many people struggle to solve problems or come up with good ideas because they allow themselves to be tied down to a certain way of thinking. Albert Einstein didn’t allow himself to become tied down to the concepts of Classical Mechanics. He understood it, but he did not allow it to lock his thoughts into a rigid structure. Lateral thinking is a thought process that separates those who imitate from those who innovate. People who are good at imitating others are very limited. They are controlled by what has already been established.
Innovators are people who create new ideas, fashions, or scientific theories. They will study the relevant existing knowledge, and once they have it, they will use lateral thinking to alter the way they approach problems. This allows them to accomplish things that have not been done before. This is what separates good scientists from great scientists. Virtually anyone can learn to memorize something, but it is more difficult to take that information and use it to create something unique that did not exist before. Lateral thinking is a excellent problem solving tool that you will want to practice. You will be surprised with the things you come up with.
