{"id":145727,"date":"2025-09-08T15:53:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=145727"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:59:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T19:59:33","slug":"edward-de-bono-lateral-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/edward-de-bono-lateral-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What if the key to breakthrough thinking lies in doing the opposite of what we usually do? Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step<\/em> introduces a revolutionary approach to problem-solving that challenges our conventional thought patterns<\/a>. Instead of following predictable logical sequences, lateral thinking encourages us to explore unexpected connections, embrace temporary confusion, and generate multiple possibilities before settling on solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to get an overview of this groundbreaking book and discover how shifting your mental approach can give you access to creative insights you never knew were possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Overview of Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For centuries, logical and analytical thinking<\/a> has been the cornerstone of problem-solving methodology. While this has led to remarkable achievements in science, mathematics, and technology, it sometimes fails to address challenges that require creative breakthroughs or novel solutions. Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step<\/em><\/a> (1970) shows us how to move beyond the limitations of traditional \u201cvertical\u201d thinking to embrace more creative and unconventional thought patterns. De Bono presents lateral thinking<\/em>, not as a replacement for logical thinking, but as a complementary tool that enables us to view problems from new perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Bono (1933-2021) was a Maltese physician and scholar with advanced degrees in medicine, psychology, and physiology. He worked at multiple universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge, the University of Malta, and Dublin City University. He wrote 70 books, including The Use of Lateral Thinking<\/em><\/a> (in which he coined the term \u201clateral thinking\u201d), The Mechanism of Mind<\/em><\/a>, Six Thinking Hats<\/em><\/a>, I Am Right, You Are Wrong<\/em><\/a>, and Teach Your Child How to Think<\/em><\/a>. In 2005, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our overview of the book Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step<\/em>, we\u2019ll explain de Bono\u2019s concept of lateral thinking, contrast it with vertical thinking, and describe how the mind\u2019s style of processing information lends itself to lateral thinking. We\u2019ll also discuss practices for promoting lateral thinking and share some structured exercises for teachers to use in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Lateral Thinking?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To understand lateral thinking, we first need to define vertical thinking<\/em>. De Bono explains that vertical thinking is a logical, step-by-step process of reasoning based on established patterns of thought. It\u2019s focused on a specific objective\u2014something to be \u201cfigured out\u201d\u2014and concerned with finding the best or most correct option. In contrast, lateral thinking<\/em><\/strong> is an exploratory process that challenges established patterns of thought<\/strong> and focuses on coming up with many ideas, even after finding a workable solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In vertical thinking, each step must follow logically from the previous one, and each step must be correct. Lateral thinking, however, can jump to a potential solution and then work backward to fill in the gaps. It allows for temporary incorrectness as long as the final result is valid. Lateral thinking is<\/a> particularly useful for coming up with new ideas and solving problems that require you to challenge existing assumptions or functional-but-not-ideal solutions (as opposed to problems that simply require more information, for which vertical thinking is better suited). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lateral thinking lets you avoid inflexible thinking or being dismissive toward alternate ways of thinking. However, de Bono emphasizes that vertical thinking and lateral thinking aren\u2019t at odds with each other. Rather, the two styles work together: Lateral thinking produces new approaches while vertical thinking develops them.<\/strong> This complementary relationship makes both styles necessary for effective thinking and problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judgment in Vertical and Lateral Thinking<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

De Bono explains that an integral part of vertical thinking is evaluating ideas as they come up.<\/strong> Because vertical thinking can only proceed if each step is correct, the process must include judging correctness for each of those steps. This is so you can dismiss and remove incorrect ideas from the thinking process. In this way, de Bono argues, vertical thinking is about rejecting ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, judging and dismissing ideas in this way leads to two problems: First, you prevent yourself from using some ideas in your reasoning. Second, this presupposes that you have ideas in the first place. This is where lateral thinking comes in: While vertical thinking demands correctness at every step, lateral thinking is about producing <\/em>ideas and allows for being temporarily wrong as long as the end result is effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Note on Teaching Students How to Think<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

De Bono explains that schools tend to place a heavy emphasis on vertical thinking and fail to adequately teach students how to think laterally. Students are taught that their reasoning must always be correct, which prevents them from practicing lateral thinking. He recommends that teachers devote class time to teaching lateral thinking<\/strong>, suggesting that a dedicated hour once per week would be sufficient to instill this practice in students. Later in the guide, we\u2019ll describe some ways to practice lateral thinking, as well as specific exercises that teachers can use for students of all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Mind Processes Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve defined lateral thinking and explained how it differs from vertical thinking. Next we\u2019ll look at how the brain creates patterns from information and how lateral thinking plays into that process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Bono explains that the human mind operates by generating and identifying patterns.<\/strong> It does this by creating recurring series of activity between neurons in the brain. While some patterns are innate (such as instincts), the mind\u2019s most important capability is creating <\/em>patterns. These patterns, whether right or wrong, become the basis for recognizing and responding to situations, allowing us to quickly receive and react to stimuli in our environment. For example, if an ancient human heard the sound of a rattlesnake just before encountering one, their brain would form a connection between that sound and the dangerous animal. The next time they heard the rattle, their brain would quickly tap into that pattern and alert them to the danger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more a pattern is used or activated, the more likely the brain is to continue to use it.<\/strong> This makes the system efficient, but it also makes it resistant to change. The purpose of lateral thinking is to challenge this system, prompting you to reconsider or revise these patterns, giving way to novel ideas<\/a> that would otherwise be constrained by your ingrained ways of thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Role of Sequence in Pattern-Making<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Because the brain arranges information as it comes in, explains de Bono, the patterns the brain forms depend heavily on the order in which it receives information. This means that it can become difficult to rearrange old information that\u2019s been formed into patterns even as new information flows in.<\/strong> Using our example of the human encountering a rattlesnake, that person\u2019s mental association between the rattling sound and the sense of danger would persist even if they began hearing the sound in a safe context where no snakes were present. It would take numerous exposures to the sound in this context before the pattern in their mind changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Patterns Can Hinder Thinking<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While the patterns our brain forms can serve us well as mental shortcuts<\/a>, de Bono writes that they can also impede our ability to think creatively and solve problems. One reason for this is that once we form a pattern that\u2019s functional, we continue to rely on that pattern even if it\u2019s not the most optimal one<\/strong>. For example, you might have learned to type with just your index fingers, and over time this became an ingrained pattern. You\u2019d likely continue to use this method as long as it accomplished the desired task. Moreover, if you had never seen anyone else type with all ten fingers and weren\u2019t aware there was such a method, it might never occur to you that there\u2019s a more efficient way of typing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labeling<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In addition to relying on suboptimal but functional patterns, the mind creates labels for ideas, <\/strong>a tendency that\u2019s useful for communication and comprehension but can hold back thinking. This is because labels become permanent, which prevents us from thinking about them in new ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, imagine you applied the label \u201cmusical instruments\u201d to \u201cobjects that make melodies when strummed, plucked, bowed, or blown into.\u201d While this covers a large portion of musical instruments, it leaves out percussive instruments, which make sounds by striking and don\u2019t always produce melodies. If you were then tasked with inventing a new instrument, you\u2019d be missing out on many potential innovations because of the constraints of your label. Imagine a world with no drums! It may be much quieter, but it would also be more boring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binaries<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The mind also tends to create binaries out of information, sorting ideas into categories with little overlap or nuance between them.<\/strong> If we take in information that should create a new pattern, but that new pattern resembles an already existing pattern, we\u2019re more likely to distort this new information to make it fit our old <\/em>pattern than to let it create a new one. If there are two such existing patterns that appear to be opposites in any way, then our minds reshape this new information to fit into one of those categories. This allows us to quickly categorize new information so we know how to react to it (the same way we react to everything else in the matching category), but this can also lead us to manipulate and misrepresent information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this, imagine you\u2019re sorting animal pictures into two piles: one for mammals and one for reptiles. You come across a picture of a bird, and without a third category, you have to classify it as either a mammal or a reptile. If you place it in the reptile pile, you\u2019ve made the determination that birds are the same as reptiles, which preserves the patterns of the categorization system but conflicts with reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of lateral thinking is to challenge these patterns so information can be restructured to create more optimal or less limiting ideas. Next, we\u2019ll look at some specific ways you can practice lateral thinking and turn it into a habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Practice Lateral Thinking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to de Bono, lateral thinking is both an attitude and a skill that can be cultivated and practiced.<\/strong> The core tenet of lateral thinking is recognizing that any single view of something is only one of many potential views. The purpose of lateral thinking is to seek out these alternative ideas by considering different arrangements of existing information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Bono explains that understanding the concepts and purpose of lateral thinking is essential to making use of it. <\/strong>In addition, you can deliberately employ specific techniques to prompt you to restructure information. <\/strong>These can help you develop the habit of lateral thinking in general, and they can also help in specific cases to get your mind started on complex problems<\/a> while breaking free from patterns that may hold you back. We\u2019ll cover some of those techniques next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique 1: Idea Generation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first technique for practicing lateral thinking that de Bono describes is idea generation. Lateral thinking aims to produce as many ideas as possible rather than finding the best one, continues to generate options even after finding promising approaches, and considers even unreasonable ideas. This is because any idea, regardless of its correctness, can lead to new and better ideas.<\/strong> Practicing idea generation helps you cultivate cognitive flexibility<\/a>, understand that there are always other options, and turn pattern-restructuring into a habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Quotas<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To make idea generation a habit, de Bono recommends using quotas: Set a specific number of ideas you want to come up with before you begin.<\/strong> Setting this quota beforehand forces you to continue producing ideas even after finding an apparently good solution, and it requires you to make an effort to find ideas rather than just waiting for them to present themselves. This prevents you from getting stuck on the first promising idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercises to Teach Idea Generation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

De Bono provides many structured exercises for teaching lateral thinking to students. We\u2019ll highlight and briefly describe some of these throughout this section. As a reminder, make sure you don\u2019t evaluate students\u2019 ideas as they come up. If they don\u2019t seem to make sense, ask the students to explain them, but avoid labeling<\/a> them as incorrect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Describe a geometric figure:<\/strong> Present students with a shape and ask them to come up with as many ways of describing it as possible. For example, the image of a hexagon might elicit the following descriptions: <\/p>\n\n\n\n