Lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. The term was coined in 1967 by Edward de Bono. [1] According to de Bono, lateral thinking deliberately distances itself from standard perceptions of creativity as either "vertical" logic (the classic method for problem solving: working out the solution step-by-step from the given data) or "horizontal" imagination (having many ideas but being unconcerned with the detailed implementation of them). Methods[edit] Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of statements and seeking errors. Lateral thinking is more concerned with the "movement value" of statements and ideas.
Random Entry Idea Generating Tool: The thinker chooses an object at random, or a noun from a dictionary, and associates it with the area they are thinking about. See also[edit] Lateral Thinking Puzzles - Preconceptions. Lateral thinking puzzles that challenge your preconceptions. 1. You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus: 1.
An old lady who looks as if she is about to die. 2. An old friend who once saved your life. 3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about. Knowing that there can only be one passenger in your car, whom would you choose? Hint: You can make everyone happy. Solution: The old lady of course! 2. Hint: The police only know two things, that the criminal's name is John and that he is in a particular house. Solution: The fireman is the only man in the room. 3. Hint: He is very proud, so refuses to ever ask for help. Solution: The man is a dwarf. 4. Hint: It does not matter what the baby lands on, and it has nothing to do with luck. Solution: The baby fell out of a ground floor window. 5. Hint: His mother was an odd woman. 6. Hint: This has nothing to do with adoption or time travel. 7. Lateral Puzzles. Lateral Thinking Problems - Semantics. Lateral thinking problems that require you to pay close attention to the exact wording of the problem. 1. A woman gave natural birth to two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same month of the same year.
But they were not twins and she had no access to a time machine. How could this be? Solution: They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.) 2. Solution: The water in the river only came up to the man's chest. 3. Hint: The truck driver was not in reverse, nor was he in any particular emergency. Solution: The truck driver was walking. 4. Hint: This really could happen, and probably does in some form or other. Solution: The man is a philanthropist who bought great quantities of rice to sell to poor people at prices they could afford. 5. Solution: Because he would earn three times as much money! Lateral Thinking Brain Teasers - Fact. Lateral thinking problems that are based on fact. 1. A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink of water. The bartender gives the man a drink of water, but the man says the water is no good. The bartender thinks for a minute, pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man says, "Thank you," and walks out.
Hint: Please do not try this at home. Solution: The man has hiccups; the bartender scares them away by pulling a gun. A Colombian man accidentally shot his nephew to death while trying to cure his hiccups by pointing a revolver at him to scare him, police in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla said on Tuesday, the 24th of January 2006. After shooting 21-year-old university student David Galvan in the neck, his uncle, Rafael Vargas, 35, was so distraught he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide, police said. The incident took place on Sunday night while the two were having drinks with neighbors. "They were drinking but they were aware of what was going on," one witness said. 2. Lateral Thinking Puzzles Revisited. Tricky Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Lateral Thinking Puzzles, unlike most puzzles, are inexact. In a sense, they are a hybrid between puzzles and storytelling.
In each puzzle, some clues to a scenario are given, but the clues don't tell the full story. Your job is to fill in the details and complete the story. Obviously, there is usually more than one answer to any given puzzle, but, in general, only one solution is truly satisfying. You can try solving these puzzles on your own -- that's certainly a legitimate way to go about this -- but usually you can have more fun if you involve other people. The way this works is, you look at the answer (maybe you want to try the puzzle on your own first!) , then read just the clues to your friends. Warning: For some reason, these puzzles have a tendency to be rather morbid. Realistic Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Lateral Thinking Puzzles, unlike most puzzles, are inexact. In a sense, they are a hybrid between puzzles and storytelling. In each puzzle, some clues to a scenario are given, but the clues don't tell the full story.
Your job is to fill in the details and complete the story. Obviously, there is usually more than one answer to any given puzzle, but, in general, only one solution is truly satisfying. You can try solving these puzzles on your own -- that's certainly a legitimate way to go about this -- but usually you can have more fun if you involve other people. Warning: For some reason, these puzzles have a tendency to be rather morbid. The scenarios given on this page are realistic, if unlikely.