365QOD- Day1305

Lateral Thinking

"Pretend that you’re trapped in a magical room with only two exits. Through the first exit is a room made from a giant magnifying glass, and the blazing hot sun will fry you to death. Through the second door is a room with a fire-breathing dragon. Which do you go through?

The first door, of course. Simply wait until the sun goes down. "- U99.com article

I love this example.  Almost immediately we jump into linear thinking and having to chose one of the two choices.  Why?

Edward de Bono, who coined the term in 1967 explains that, “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.” 

So how do we go about changing those pieces?  The article offers five suggestions to help us improve our lateral thinking.  Let us break them apart in next five posts.

First suggestion is to List the assumptions

"When confronted with a question (problem, challenge, etc.), write out the assumptions inherent to the question. In the case of the puzzle above, the list might include the following:

• You want to get out of the room
• You have to choose one of the two options
• You have to do something now
• Room One will kill you no matter what (or so we think!)
• Room Two will kill you no matter what"

I would add WHY? behind each one of those assumptions.  

Today's question is:

"Do you ever list the assumptions you are making during difficult times?"