Thinking about Thinking, Creativity, Innovation and Design
One of our readers challenged us to simplify the process of applying Stratals as a creativity tool. A stratal is putting together a layer of unconnected, random statements or observations and looking at it as a whole. The purpose is to allow new ideas to materialize from evaluating the strata as a whole and not …
Can we design ideas to get women in top positions without mandatory quotas?
Classical Rational Policy Analysis and interactive policymaking are basically reacting to existing problems that, for some reasons, get "high on the societal agenda". However, a real innovative policy can only come about if policymakers redefine themselves as designers instead of reactive problem solvers.
In 1968, Dick Fosberry won a gold medal in high jumping at the Summer Olympics. Instead of diving with his belly over the bar and landing on his feet, he did it reverse, jumped over the bar with his back and landed on his back. Nearly two thousand years since the Olympics in Athens, mankind …
Gijs and Asa are delighted to introduce Dennis Perrin, who has kindly written this blog post. Enjoy! 1. Creativity and de Bono Thinking 2.Training makes the difference 3.Some experiences with the de Bonos Creativity and de Bono Thinking In the early seventies I bought Dr de Bono’s book “The Mechanism of Mind”. In the book, …
Normally we are asked to help people or teams to get ideas. Because they are stuck, running around in circles, blocked, don't have inspiration or are just not creative "by nature". However, in most of the cases they lack creative thinking tools by wich they can create deliberately alternative approaches or construct systematically breakthrough ideas. …
Classical marketing campaigns are mostly massive in nature, like the Napoleonic Wars. By using brute force and heavenly leaning on resources (people, money, gun power, logistics, management skills) they ty to win. Basically, both parties are in the same game, each trying to use better but more-of-the-same tactics. An alternative for the not so powerful …
A new adage is blowing around in the world of innovation. According to Wikipedia, The term "big data" often refers simply to the use of predictive analytics, user behavior analytics, or certain other advanced data analytics methods that extract value from data, and seldom to a particular size of data set. Analysis of data sets can find …
Continue reading "What Big Data, what information dominance?"
In 17th and 18th centuries England, France, and Spain contested the Dutch domination of world trade and the control over the seas and trade routes. After initial English successes, the war ended in a decisive Dutch victory. In 1667 Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter sailed up to the river Thames and attacked the British Royal navy …
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 …
There are several ways to design a new concept deliberately. But what is a new concept? Not many people have a quick answer to this question, other than "differently than expected", "something else as normal", "not seen before" or just "interesting". One of the easiest ways to design a new concept is to escape from …
This post is about patterns or logical bubbles in psycho therapy. As we will see there are some parallels with lateral thinking. There are several reasons why a person attends psychotherapy. Someone may attend psychotherapy because she is suffering because she thinks herself into a situation she doesn't want to be in. She visits a psychotherapist to …
Continue reading "I Am a Depressive Character – You’re Absolutely Right"
In a Reversal, the usual supposed cause-effect relation between objects or subjects are turned upside down. For example, it is supposed that the establishment of a permanent observation post increases the safety of recreational sailing. A Reversal could set up that the establishment of a permanent observational post rightly effective decreases the safety of sailors. The …
Continue reading "World’s Most Interesting Reversals (1) – Thinkibility Boost"
Design has been used throughout history to control our behavior. Hausmann designed the broad avenues in Paris with the aim to better control riots and revolutionary uproars. There are designs that prevent you from lying on a bench, so called anti homeless benches. Citizens have built low viaducts to prevent buses going into the town to …
Often it is stressed that we should be creative and search for alternative choices or possibilities. And seldom the interpretation of a phenomenon itself is subject to creative alternatives. In history, politics and news we follow mostly the elucidation as given by experts, journalists or opinion leaders. In organisations, we make “sense” of what is …
A mystery What is innovation? Is it an improvement, a further development of the product? Is it an extra button? A new colour? Or something impossible? To encourage innovative thinking we need to inspire action and at least in some cases, swim against the tide. The pitfall that many for us step into when trying …
The idea that you can be taught to be creative by using techniques of deliberate creativity is a recent phenomenon. The first approaches originating between fifty and seventy years ago. There are roughly three approaches to deliberate creativity: Brainstorming Lateral Thinking TRIZ Innovation - the implementing of ideas that have value – is a younger …
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