Lateral thinking - what is it? The word was invented by Edward
DeBono in 1967. Somewhere along the way it became a part of the
English language (it's in the Oxford English Dictionary and
others now). DeBono says there are several ways to define it.
Lateral thinking is a way of attacking problems from other
angles, as opposed to the more traditional linear and logical
ways. Debono uses chess as an example of the latter, where logic
normally suffices - because the pieces are a given. In real life
we mostly just assume the pieces are given, when really we need
to change those pieces or look beyond them for the most useful
solutions.
Lateral Thinking - Three Puzzles
Enough with the definitions. try these three lateral thinking
puzzles instead. They'll give you a feel for what the term
means, and let you practice this "out of the box"
thinking.
Choosing The Coin
Bill is on a raft, adrift in the ocean with several survivors of
a shipwreck. All but one of the others are too weak, so either
he or Frank will swim to a nearby island to look for help.
Unfortunately, it is almost certainly suicidal, due to the
circling sharks, but they have little else to hope for.
Frank puts two pennies in a hat, telling Bill that one is a 2005
penny, and the other dated 1975. If Bill picks the newer penny
he can stay on the raft, and Frank will risk his life. If he
picks the older penny, he must go. Bill has seen that both
pennies are actually dated 1975. He doesn't want to say
anything, because Frank is a big guy, so how does he win, and
get Mike to go, without exposing him as a fraud in front of the
others?
The Superior Mother
A man visited a convent while the superior mother was out of
town. Before she returned, he left, and was careful to leave
nothing behind. The nuns kept quiet about his visit, so how did
the superior mother figure out that a man had been there?
Switching On Your Lateral Thinking
Outside a closed room there are three switches on the wall.
inside the room, there are three lamps. Flip the switches as
much as you want while the door is closed, but then you must
enter the room just once and determine which switch is connected
to which lamp. How will you do it?
There are very logical answers to all three of these lateral
thinking puzzles. The way to arrive at them, however, may be
less logical and more creative. Have fun!
