Define Lateral Thinking
How would you define lateral thinking? What is it exactly?
This is a word that was created in 1967 by Edward DeBono. It soon became a part of the English language. According to Edward DeBono, there are several definitions.
This is a problem solving method done with lateral thinking versus the traditional linear thinking along with our own logic. An example that DeBono uses is the game of Chess. This is a game where logic can be used and work pretty well, but if you want to change pieces or look beyond what’s on the board, for the best solutions.
You can define lateral thinking through puzzles, which will give you a good feeling for what this term really means. This is an “out of the box” experiment.
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Two Coins
John is on a small raft out on the ocean with some other survivors of a boating accident. Everyone is very weak, so John and his friend Joe need to swim to the nearest island to look for help. The swim will be very dangerous as there are sharks circling about the raft, but this is their only hope, if they don’t go for help, none of them will survive.
Joe takes some change out of his pocket and places 2 pennies in his hat. He then tells John that one of the pennies is a 2006 penny and the other one is a 1977 penny. If John picks the 2006 penny, he gets to stay, and Joe will go and risk his life to save them. But if John chooses the older penny, then he has to be the one to leave. John had noticed that both of the pennies were 1977 pennies, but he doesn’t want to mention it, because he knows Joe is pretty big and also tough. So, the question for you is how can John win and make Joe be the one to go without exposing Joe as a fraud?
Solution to the puzzle:
John will reach into the hat, takes one of the pennies, letting it then slip out of his hand and fall into the water. He will then apologize, suggesting that if the penny remaining is the 1977 penny, then he must have chosen the 2006 penny. Joe won’t be able to argue with him unless he admits that he lied and both pennies were the same date. So, John wins and Joe makes the swim.
This is the best way to define lateral thinking; step out of the box.
