Fundamental Questions about Global Warming
You agree we need innovative thinking here, don´t you? To begin with: childish questions.
How to Get a More Beautiful Question?
Warren Berger presents in his book A More Beautiful Question a simple but effective thinking instruction to get better questions. He also argues that posing better questions become even more relevant as search engines gives a answers and at the same time offer us preset questions before we have even entered the question in full. …
Questions about Questions
Always the beautiful answer Who asks a more beautiful question. E.E. Cummings The single most important habit for an innovative thinker may be to ask questions. A well formulated question stimulate and inspire. Questions leads to more questions and the question is why we focus so much attention on answering questions and so little on asking …
Will our inventions make us irrelevant?
We have the tools to redesign life to fulfil our wildest dreams. But do we know ourselves any more, asks Yuval Noah Harari in his latest book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. Big ethical questions are facing us. How do we live in an age of bewilderment where no new stories have emerged to …
Play, Embrace Uncertainty and Eat Chia Seeds
What can you do to be more creative? In the video below you can listen to the neuroscientist Beau Lotto when he talks about the value of neurodesign in creating experiences that resonate with people. He suggests that only by encouraging uncertainty can we nurture creativity. Companies, corporations, organizations and schools are failing to instil …
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Art and Innovation
What can innovators learn from art? Observation skills, questioning, and experimentation are vital parts of innovation. Observing everyday activities can lead to new insights where things can be improved on. It can also lead to break-through ideas. The innovation psychologist Leon Segal said: “Innovation begins with an eye.” Innovators carefully watch the world around them …
Laugh Yourself to New Ideas!
The King Arthur Round Swing Table has some of the right attributes to transform a dull meeting into a creative exploration. Thinking is movement and I can just imagine my thoughts swirling around freely while I gently swing back-and-forth. Ideas are free to take off and start a new life. Listen carefully and you can …
T29 – Day 5
Day 5-7 – Aims and Goals Thinking about Aims and Goals is a metathinking activity – thinking about the thinking. Or blue hat thinking. Warren Berger says, “Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, “beautifully”—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities.” Question asking is an important aspect to help us consider …
Thinking about the Spread of the Coronavirus (3) – Information (not) Considered
How was situation awareness built up in the Coronacrisis and how have(not) considered information multiplied the blundering into disaster?
Thinking about the Spread of the Coronavirus (2) – Concepts
In the crucial month of February, in those weeks before the major outbreak in Europe, there was still room to stock up on protective equipment, to scale up the laboratories, to expand the purchase and production of test materials, to prepare for the removal of serum with antibodies in healed patients. Only, it didn’t happen. …
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Post-truth
Is the news about fake news really old news? We are told that we are living in a new and frightening era of post-truth. We are surrounded by lies and fiction. Blaming social media such as Facebook or certain politicians are a prevalent way of dealing with the spread of lies and invented fiction. Yet, …
Meaning – 21st Century Challenges
“So if you want to know the truth about the universe, about the meaning of life, and about your own identity, the best place is to start is by observing suffering and exploring what it is. The answer is not a story.” Yuval Noah Harari “How do you live in an age of bewilderment, when …
Creativity: State of Mind or Skill Set?
Recently we came across this post by Dave Pollard that was originally published on the blog How To Save the World under the title How to Be Creative: an excellent overview about creativity as a result of a specific mental state or creativity as a set of skills that can be learned When I was …
How to Hack Assumptions
In many books about innovation, it is stated that “You just have to be willing to challenge the assumptions of your industry, ask fresh questions, and –get this — embrace your humanness.” Daniel H. Pink Such calls are completely inadequate. Moreover, it suggests that the detection of assumptions is simple. On the contrary, the nature …
Thinking in Analogies
Many teachers in analytical/critical thinking and writing clearly forbid students the use of analogies, because, in one sense, all analogies are faulty. However, as George Lakoff, known for his thesis that the lives of individuals are significantly influenced by the central metaphors they use to explain complex phenomena, convincingly argues that all our thinking is metaphorical. …
Imagine if
Imagine if. . . Why not write down “What if” questions that you would like to explore in 2017? The importance of asking questions for the innovative process as well as for the development of Thinkibility have been explored in several blog posts. In addition, the importance of teaching children to ask questions has been …
Patterns in Medicine
We came across a booklet that could be a good example for the kind of studies by the envisioned Thinkibility University. At its West Wing, scientists dissect the basic thinking patterns in a scientific discipline. Siddhartha Mukherjee was asking himself: If there is a science of medicine, then science has laws. Physics has laws. Chemistry …
Journey from “hmm” to “yah” – Thinkibility Nibble
From “hmm” to “yay” via “eureka” and “wow” Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh’s description of her innovation journey is a great illustration of how you can invent something by being curious and asking questions Her idea was vague but she knew when she had found something exciting. Jane says: I had a bit of an idea. “I …
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Thin-slicing : the power of intuition – Thinkibility Boost
Building up Intuition is “thin-slicing” In an earlier post, we discussed the relation between Reasoning and Intuition on the basis of Kahneman’s two interrelated thinking systems. One is fast, intuitive reactive and emotional. The other is slow, deliberate, methodical and rational. Although he acknowledges that the mind functions thanks to a delicate, intricate and sometimes …
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What is a Really Good Idea?
When do you know that you have stumbled on a great idea? When do you assess and harvest the fruit of a creative session? When has idea generation delivered an invention? When is has a thinking breakthrough been attained? Unfortunately, books about brainstorming tend not to provide an answer to these questions. At least, have …
