CE 204 CREATIVE THINKING based on lateral thinking

CE 204 CREATIVE THINKING based on lateral thinking concepts developed by Edward de Bono Adapted by J. (Hans) van Leeuwen

Instructor of the week Professor J(Hans) van Leeuwen from/of the Lions • • Born in Gouda, Netherlands Grew up in South Africa Lived in Australia for 7 y Lived in Ames for 7 y Specialty: Environmental Engineering Particularly resource recovery from industrial wastes and wastewaters

Edward de Bono • Maltese • Island Malta

Edward de Bono Biography • http: //www. edwdebono. com/debono/biograph. htm • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Edward_de_Bono • Global Companies using de Bono's methods: 3 M - ABB - American Express - AT&T - Barclays Bank - Bausch& Lomb - Bayer - Bell - Benson & Hedges - Boeing - BP - Ciba-Geigy British Airways - British Coal - Canada Life - Citibank - Conco - Du. Pont - Eli Lily - Ericsson - Exxon - Ford - General Foods - General Motors - IBM - Johnson & Johnson - Kelloggs - Kodak -KPMG - Labatt - Mars - Merck - Microsoft - Monsanto - Motorola - NASA - NTT - Pepsi Cola - Polaroid - Procter & Gamble - Prudential - Pfizer - Rothmans - Siemens – Sithline - Beecham - Statoil - Total - Xerox

List of Books by de Bono • • • • • • The Use of Lateral Thinking (1967) ISBN 0 -14 -013788 -2, introduced the term "lateral thinking" New Think (1967, 1968) ISBN 0 -380 -01426 -2 The Five-Day Course in Thinking (1968), introduced the L game The Mechanism of the Mind (1969), Intl Center for Creative Thinking 1992 reprint: ISBN 0 -14 -013787 -4, suggests that the mind is a pattern matching machine Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step, (1970), Harper & Row 1973 paperback: ISBN 0 -06 -090325 -2 The Dog-Exercising Machine (1970) Technology Today (1971) Practical Thinking (1971) Lateral Thinking for Management (1971) Po: A Device for Successful Thinking (1972), ISBN 0 -671 -21338 -5, introduced the term Po Children Solve Problems (1972) ISBN 13 -978 -0060110246, ISBN 10 -0060110244 Po: Beyond Yes and No (1973), ISBN 0 -14 -021715 -0 Eureka!: An Illustrated History of Inventions from the Wheel to the Computer (1974) Teaching Thinking (1976) The Greatest Thinkers: The Thirty Minds That Shaped Our Civilization (1976), ISBN 0 -399 -11762 -8 Wordpower (1977) The Happiness Purpose (1977) Opportunities : A handbook for business opportunity search (1978) Future Positive (1979) Atlas of Management Thinking (1981) De Bono's Course in Thinking (1982) Learn-To-Think: Coursebook and Instructors Manual (1982), ISBN 0 -88496 -199 -0 co-authored with Michael Hewitt-Gleeson and co-founder of the School of Thinking Tactics: The Art and Science of Success (1985) Conflicts (1985) Masterthinker's Handbook (1985) Six Thinking Hats (1985) ISBN 0 -316 -17831 -4 I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic (1990) ISBN 0 -14 -012678 -3 Six Action Shoes (1991) Handbook for the Positive Revolution (1991) ISBN 0 -14 -012679 -1 Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create New Ideas (1992) ISBN 0 -00 -255143 -8 – a summation of many of De Bono's ideas on creativity • • • Sur/Petition (1992) ISBN 0 -88730 -543 -1 - creating value monopolies when everyone else is merely competing. Teach Yourself How to Think (1995) How to Be More Interesting (1998) Simplicity (1999) Thinking in the New Millennium (1999) Why I Want To Be King of Australia (1999) How to Have A Beautiful Mind (2004) Six Value Medals (2005) H+ (Plus): A New Religion (2006) How to Have Creative Ideas (2007) De Bono has also written numerous articles published in refereed and other journals, including The Lancet and Clinical Science.

Exercise on adding numbers 1 -100 • The average value is ½(1 + 100) = 50. 5 For 100 numbers, the sum is 50. 5 x 100 = 5050 • One way would be to plot the series of numbers as x from 1 to 100 and showing the value as y 1 to 100. To form a triangle, we need to start at 0, so we have 101 numbers. The sum of the numbers is the integral of the triangle, i. e. ½ basis x height, i. e. 101/2 x 100 = 5050

Introduction • Lack of creativity in society indicators • Engineers are not creative – temperament – measurables – risk management – competence -

Roots Development of technology and intelligence The origin of thinking - flee or fight

Topics of Discussion • Barriers to creativity – Misconceptions • Perceptions – Logic of creativity • Need for creativity • Techniques to be more creative • Exercises

Barriers to Creativity Misconceptions – Art is always creative – Creativity is a talent – School performance – IQ is HP - repartee - 2 -finger typing

Groove thinking • Zombie • “What is” vs. “What could be” • Crossing Barriers Provocative operations – square wheels – landing plane

Perceptions Thinking process Perception Process • 90% of errors • Math, Stat, Comp, Logic IT is readily available THINKING IS SCARCE!

Examples – – Violin TV host Releasing wood block Coins

Need for Creativity • • Innovation - competency Technology lacks in value Input-time efficiency Examples – Halve a rectangle – Communication

Exercise How to reduce gasoline consumption – – – Engineering: more efficient engines Engineering: improved aerodynamics Engineering: alternative fuels Better: public transport Still better: walk, bicycles Creative: work from home, shop on-line

Supporting information and examples – Oil wells – Life insurance – Olympics – Blood flow in lungs – Parallel thinking

Techniques of Creativity • Asymmetry of thinking – Leaf on tree – Hindsight – Humor - golf clubs – Blowing balloons • Overcoming hurdles – Skew pathways - walk for a change

Techniques to overcome obstacles – Random provocation – Creative pausing – Challenge – Alternatives – Concepts – Six thinking hats – Stratals – Filaments

Provocation • • Close the letter after mailing Peer exams Die before you die Criminals pay the police force Shoplifters identify themselves Plane waits for you More room on airplane

Random Provocation Pick a random word or concept and link Example – parking Link to… Exercises

Examples and Exercises • Advertising - town crier • Industry - compliance with discharge regulations • Taxi knows the way P

Examples and Exercises • Chicken and dog fence, food • Prevent person to go from A B C • Redesign umbrella

Word Play • • Butterfly Go-getter? Vegetarian eats vegetables Humanitarian? How do you get off a non-stop flight? Drive on parkways and park on driveways? Ship goods – cargo; by truck shipment? Isn’t a good steak rarely well done?

The REAL problem Automobiles – main problem in a city? • Busy streets • Smog • Parking • Centralization • Meeting

Example: Parking Problems Ø Time value of hunting Ø Risks Ø Buy a spot? Tokyo Ø Buy a right? Singapore Ø Buy it with the car? Toyota

Brainstorming Cardinal rule: Anything goes, just be polite Tips: 1. Have fun 2. Think radically 3. Violate the constraints 4. Work quickly 5. Do not dwell on any idea 6. Build out ideas of others 7. Stay focused on the problem 8. Write down the ideas 9. Use a random noun to “seed” when stuck

Gyro Gearloose Name: Gyro Gearloose Address: He lives together with his Helper in a house or perhaps in his workshop in Duckburg. Born: 19? ? on the Northside, Duckburg First appearance: 1952 in Gladstone's Terrible Secret. Created by: Carl Barks Father: Fulton Gearloose Mother: Unknown Siblings: Unknown Spouse: None Children: None Other close relatives: Ratchet Gearloose (grandfather) Nephew called Newton (wearing a mortar board hat) Occupation: An intelligent, but not always successful inventor

Gearloose Inventions

The illogical • Dear Abby, A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together and I've never seen a man go into their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese? • Dear Abby, What can I do about all the Sex, Nudity, Fowl Language and Violence on my VCR? • Dear Abby, I have a man I can't trust. He cheats so much, I'm not even sure the baby I'm carrying is his. • Dear Abby, I was married to Bill for three months and I didn't know he drank until one night he came home sober. • Dear Abby, My forty year old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50. 00 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Nature of concepts We are in the business of • selling gold-plated pens • selling writing instruments • selling prestige writing instruments • luxury personal items • luxury goods • selling whatever people want • making our directors happy • making profits

Concept Fan Problem: Hang something from ceiling • Ladder • New concepts - lengthen arm - throw object - use a stand instead

Example of the concept fan: Problem: Coping with Water Shortage Reduce consumption Increase supply • • • New sources • Recycling • Less wastage Do without Increase efficiency of use Reduce wastage Discourage use Getting to it: Education • Stop water using processes • Avoid need to use water • Use other fluid • Wastewater • Oil • Air/vacuum

Concept fan 1. 2. 3. 4. Place the problem in a circle. Fan out with possible solutions. If needed, step back for a broader view. Generate solutions to the broader problem. 5. Repeat steps 3 -5.

Example Impose large fines Imprison polluters Make polluting unprofitable Control pollution entering sea Reduce pollution from ships Improve WQ From mindtools. com Monitor Improve sewage treatment Ban solid discharge Extend outfalls Clean water at local beach Filter sea water Patrol beach litter Contain trash dumped at sea Inspire public outrage Allow free dumping at ports Control ag & industrial pollution Eliminate it Reduce return to beaches Monitor river WQ

Lateral thinking “Approaching problems indirectly at diverse angles instead of concentrating on one approach at length” Problem: Muhammad won't come to the mountain. 1. Mountain must come to Muhammad (the classic answer) 2. Use a video conference 3. Use an intermediary 4. Ask him what he wants to come to the mountain 5. See if he'll accept a free timeshare slot in a holiday home, which just happens to be on the mountain 6. Wait until he changes his mind 7. Cut your losses and tackle a different problem From wikipedia. org

What is creative thinking? You frequently encounter a problem that staples used in attaching flyscreens do not penetrate the timber frame well. Suggest two or three creative alternative approaches, bearing in mind what the ultimate objective is. We need to move beyond engineering solutions. 1. Use glue instead of staples 2. Use insect repellent to kill flies 3. Replace screens with glass and an air conditioner 4. Use a softer frame 5. Kill flies with UV lights 6. Clamp the screens into the frame 7. Eliminate the window and use a camera and a monitor to view the outside 8. Lure insects away from window with food or pheromones From CE 203, Fall 2005, exam 1

Lateral thinking puzzles 1. A carrot, a pile of pebbles, and a pipe lying together in the middle of a field. 2. Joe, wearing a mask and carrying an empty sack, leaves his house. An hour later he returns with a full sack. He goes into a room and turns out the lights. 3. A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink. The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man says, "Thank you, " and walks out. 4. Mr. Browning is glad the car ran out of gas. 5. A man ate some food that was not poisoned, yet nevertheless caused him to die. 6. A man leaves a motel room, goes to his car, honks the horn, and returns. From rinkworks. com

More Exercises • Urgent parking • Urgent telephones • Page numbering • Shape of glasses

More Exercises • Ballpoint • Cut square in 4 pieces • Construction drill bits

Parallel Thinking – 6 Hats Obtain facts Feelings Benefits Disadvantages Creative thinking Overview

Engineering slant – logic? • To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is 2 x as big as it need be. • What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers? Mechanical engineers build weapons and civil engineers build targets. • Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it’s safe to add more features.

The Illogical Thought

Logic?

Question 1, Assignment • Create a joke of your own • Consider some de Bono techniques in doing this • By preference, the joke should be based on wordplay, e. g. double meanings or similar sounding words, or illogical thoughts • Include explanation of how constructed • Statement on authenticity to be included • Send to leeuwen@iastate. edu – heading must include “CE 204 joke”