Lateral Thinking
by Edward de Bono
De Bono's 1970 textbook on thinking sideways: challenging assumptions, random stimulation, reversal, provocation, and why vertical logic cannot generate new ideas. Dry and systematic; the techniques work.
Read it if…
you want a toolkit for escaping obvious solutions.
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Skip it if…
you want a quick read; it is a course.
Try instead: Serious Creativity →
Three things you will actually use
- Vertical thinking digs the same hole deeper.
- Provocation precedes insight.
- Challenge the assumption everyone shares.
Do this first
Use random-word stimulation on one stuck problem.
Our verdict
Thinking sideways, systematically.
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