Lateral thinking is the ability to use your imagination to look at a problem in a fresh way and come up. Im so fascinated about the idea of lateral thinking, but the book was written so theoretically, and it lacks of reallife examples of applying the theory. This realthing lateral thinking example actually saved the lives of children. Examples of creative solutions lateral thinking stimulus. Here, first you will know what is lateral thinking.
After that,9 challenging lateral thinking questions and answers along with clues are given to let you test your lateral thinking capability. Here are some examples of lateral thinking puzzles based on a realistic scenario. An example of lateral thinking is the one that led german chemist august kekule to the dicovery of the anular structure of benzene. Slowing down as i approached the mariaanhill tollgate just outside pinetown, i spied an empty looking gate to the right and made a bee. Successful people today are great creative thinkers. Name an ancient invention still in use in most parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls. Here well talk you through what the ability is, and give some examples of lateral thinking skills. Lateral thinking is concerned with the perception part of thinking. Lateral thinking is a technique where you vere from the normal or linear straight path way of problem solving to a nonlinear or lateral thinking. Abstract thinking is the ability to think about things that are not actually present. The problem with this is many people either dont fully understand it or confuse it with the related but different terms of analytical and lateral thinking.
A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to new ideas. Critical thinking as a term is often mentioned as a key skill for employees to have at all levels of an organization. Lateral thinking puzzles that challenge your preconceptions. In each puzzle, some clues to a scenario are given, but the clues dont tell the full story. Lateral thinking is the ability to use your imagination to look at a problem in a fresh way and come up with a new solution. In a sense, they are a hybrid between puzzles and storytelling. It essentially means being able to think creatively or outside the box in order to solve a problem. Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of. Lateral thinking puzzles, unlike most puzzles, are inexact. Lateral thinking, the ability to move horizontally across different categories of thought, often manifests itself as a synthesis between seemingly incongruent ideas.
What do graduate employers really want to find out when they ask you competencybased and strengthsbased interview questions about your lateral thinking and problem solving. Lateral thinking, remember, is moving away from the usual logic and linear line of reasoning. The book is packed with reallife examples, practical methods and lateral thinking exercises you can put to work today. For example, it is logical to think about jumping up to reach the railing, and to help a person do that. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. Do a find someone who with the questions and answers. From the cavemen to presentday text messages, humans have been playing games, solving puzzles, and. For example, galileos ship is a thought experiment that says that if you drop a cannon ball from the mast of a moving ship, it should fall directly below where it was dropped and that this location is not influenced by the speed or direction of the ship. Lateral thinking technique santa barbara city college. We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries. If you can solve 50% of these questions, your lateral thinking capability is extremely awesome. See the page lateral thinking examples for a look at some creative solutions to a real scenario. He managed to find 2 caves where he could take shelter, but he noticed a hungry polar bear in one cave and the other one is filled with radioactive waste. You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus.
Lateral thinking means taking a creative approach to a problem or challenge. Lateral thinking definition and meaning collins english. Real life lateral thinking problems how to increase brainpower. Targetjobs gives you advice on how to answer these questions and, in particular, the competency interview question give me an example of your lateral thinking. Realistic lateral thinking problems articles factory. In lower order thinking information does not need to be applied to any real life examples, it only needs to be recalled and slightly understood. Practicing creativity on a daily basis guides you to become a great success in the future. Lateral thinking is solving problems by an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light. It is the very definition of thinking outside the box. You are probably most familiar with lateral thinking puzzles or riddles. For example, if youve been involved with a student society that was struggling financially, a logical solution to the problem might be to seek to cut costs.
How lateral thinking is solving todays workplace design problems. Nybbles and bytes lateral thinking a real world example. Neither linear or lateral thinking is the right answer for every situation. Lateral thinking exercises these lateral puzzles have divided into cells, so that you can. The top ten lateral thinking puzzles destination innovation. Though the question is presented as a binary choiceone option or the otherwhen you disregard the assumption that you must act immediately, the. Lateral thinking has to be distinguished from critical thinking. Creative thinking is essential for applying lateral thinking to your everyday life. Name an ancient invention still in use in most parts of the world today that allows people to see. Here are some examples of lateral thinking based questions. Examples of creative solutions lateral thinking youtube. Try to actively train your brain to look for creative solutions for everyday problems.
In most real life situations the pieces are not given, we just assume they are there. Four real life examples of outside the box leadership. Creative thinking means looking at something in a new way. 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.
How to apply lateral thinking to your creative work. This book is packed with reallife examples, practical methods and lateral thinking exercises. Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. T he answer to this puzzle is an example of what psychologists call lateral thinking. My previous leadership posts can be segmented into five categories. They lead you to make certain assumptions, and to solve them you have to look at those assumptions youre making and try to get beyond them. This list contains some of the most renowned and representative lateral thinking puzzles. Lateral thinking involves coming at the problem from new directions literally from the side. In brief, lateral thinking involves looking at problem from a different angle. Often, creativity in this sense involves what is called lateral thinking, or the ability to perceive patterns that are not obvious. Critical thinking vs analytical thinking vs creative. People who think in an abstract way look at the broader significance of ideas and information rather than the concrete details. Scroll carefully because the solutions are presented at.
A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. Your job is to fill in the details and complete the story. It is easy to see from the example above that lateral thinking comes into play when solving crimes. Now thats a good example of applying lateral thinking to real life problems.
The top ten lateral thinking puzzles lateral thinking puzzles are strange situations in which you are given a little information and then have to find the explanation. Lateral thinking is a method of solving problems by using your imagination to help you. Well, here are some crazy examples of people who broke all the rules. Below is a list of 20 realistic lateral thinking puzzles designed to flex your brain and test your critical thinking skills. Although the author stressed on the lateral thinking importance in the last chapter that is applicable in different aspects of life as he claims. Ever wonder what problem solving looks like in the real world. What is the difference between lateral thinking and linear. Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples log in dictionary. Goal of this article is to produce more and more lateral thinkers. Here are three examples of how lateral thinking helps provide the. In conventional thinking we go forward in a predictable, direct fashion. If you are still not clear, here are the 6 top classic examples of exactly how lateral thinking works. Examples of lateral thinking in a sentence, how to use it.
Lateral thinking how can lateral thinking help you. Life itself presents us with many lateral thinking problems, at least if we look at situations the right way. Lateral thinking puzzles involve solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious, thinking out of the box and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional stepbystep logic. Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via. Lateral thinking puzzles are strange situations in which you are given a little information and. Abstract thinkers are interested in the deeper meaning of things and the bigger picture. For example, a judge in a michigan child custody case went beyond the traditional thinking about how much time the children would spend at each parents house. All of these puzzles are plausible scenarios so theres no need to break the laws of physics, involve magic, or invoke the use of supernatural powers to solve them. What is lateral thinking and what is an example of it. Four examples of outside the box leadership is the ninth post in the explaining leadership series from dr. Well not only look at some possible solutions to the following problem, but well look at how to arrive at lateral possibilities. In the leaders guide to lateral thinking skills, highly acclaimed author, trainer and presenter paul sloane demonstrates how the lateral leader develops the vision, culture and processes that transform a regular business into an innovation hothouse. 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.
Fold the puzzles, so that students have to unfold them to find the correct answers. Having been fortunate enough to travel locally recently, i found myself in a situation where lateral thinking was demonstrated in a good way, in an everyday situation. We think lateral thinking should be part of every teams skillset so heres a quick introduction followed by reallife examples of how it works. Most reallife problems especially ones involving other people call for a creative approach and some lateral thinking. Riddles, lateral thinking and logic puzzles that destroy brain cells is packed with puzzles, fun facts, and word quizzes to challenge your brain. How lateral thinking is solving todays workplace design. Thought experiment developing an analogy that simplifies a complex problem. This book describes how the lateral leader develops the vision, culture and processes that transform a regular business into an innovation hothouse. Paul sloane has written 20 books of lateral thinking puzzles including lateral thinking puzzlers and infuriating lateral thinking. They are solved through a dialogue between the quizmaster who sets the puzzle. 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. Riddles, lateral thinking riddles, tricky riddles exploring the south pole a man was exploring the south pole when a strong storm began. Obviously, there is usually more than one answer to any given puzzle. Classic lateral thinking examples michael muxworthy.
The perfectly ingenious answer will seldom be reached using traditional stepbystep logic or pedantic thinking. An australian woman was born in 1948 but only celebrated her 16th birthday quite recently. 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. Creative thinking involves students learning to generate and apply new. You can use lateral thinking to turn your organization around. The most elegant solution presents itself when you approach the problem sideways, rather than answering it headon.
Lateral thinking, like any skill, can be greatly enhanced with a little practice and understanding. Real life lateral thinking problems increase brainpower. Some lateral thinking examples increase brainpower. What are some real life incidents of lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is coming at a problem from a different perhaps. Lateral thinking term was coined by edward debono in 1967 and is about how we. Black shoes, socks, trousers, lumper, gloves and balaclava. Each of us has tapped into our genius from time to time to magically apply lateral thinking to a problem or personal conundrum. Download pdf lateral thinking how to apply lateral. The parents would each get their own place and move in with the kids on alternating weeks. Vertical thinking is sticking with the current approach being rigid approach, being rigid.
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