Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step

“This could be a very useful book for teachers and non-teachers alike. Dr. DeBono does not claim to be able to turn us all into Miltons, Davincis, and Einsteins…but his techniques provide an alternative to just sitting around waiting for the Muse to appear. The Muse never appears to most of us—hence the value of this book.”— David Cohen, Times Educational Supplement The first practical explanation of how creativity works, this results-oriented bestseller trains listeners to move beyond a “vertical” mode of thought to tap the potential of lateral thinking “The underlying argument of the book is that there are two kinds of thinking—vertical and lateral. Most of us are educated to think vertically, to go from one logical step to the next, moving all the time towards the one correct solution of our problem. We are not usually educated to be creative, to generate idea after idea…. “Dr. DeBono argues that the function of vertical, logical thinking is to argue what is wrong. It is a very useful way of thinking, but it is not the only useful way. To claim it is, is the sort of intellectual arrogance that makes creative thinking unlikely….