Lateral thinking is known as thinking that allows us to solve challenges and problems imaginatively .
This concept is made up of two words that have their origin in Latin. Thus, thought was formed from the union of the verb “pensare”, which can be translated as “compare” or “estimate”, and the suffix “-ment”, which is used to indicate “result”.
Lateral, for its part, derives from the word “lateralis”, which is the sum of the noun “latus”, which means “side”, and the suffix “-al”, which is usually used to show “belonging” or “relationship”. ”.
The Maltese psychologist Edward de Bono coined this concept in 1967 .
De Bono differentiated between logical thinking (direct and linear) and lateral thinking (indirect and creative). Lateral thinking implies a different organization of mental processes, resorting to unusual patterns.
By not appealing to the traditional path, lateral thinking favors innovation . The key is to approach problems from different points of view to find new answers.
There are several strategies that can contribute to the development of lateral thinking. The elimination of certain characteristics of the problem; the exaggeration or moderation of a certain aspect; the division of the problem into several parts; and the establishment of analogies are some of the resources that are often suggested.
In the same way, other techniques that help promote lateral thinking are eliminating some part of the problem itself or reversing the problem. With the latter we are referring to analyzing the opposite case and seeing from that perspective that is the opposite how that one could be solved.
Let's look at an example of lateral thinking. Suppose we must use a strainer to transport water . How could the mission be completed successfully? Logical thinking indicates that we would lose water through the holes in the strainer. But, using lateral thinking, it is possible to answer that frozen water can be transferred in a strainer without problems. Thus, thanks to lateral thinking, we move away from convention (thinking about water in a liquid state) and solve the puzzle.
Let's take another case. A dog has a three-meter-long rope around its neck and reaches for a bone that is located six meters away . How is it possible? For logical thinking, there is no possibility: something located six meters away seems inaccessible to the animal . Lateral thinking, on the other hand, would point out that the dog has the rope around its neck, but that rope is not tied anywhere.
Some of the classic examples of lateral thinking are these:
-Manuel dropped the ring he was wearing into a cup full of coffee. However, it didn't get wet. How is it possible? In this situation we may think that this is really impossible. However, lateral thinking would show that it could have happened because the coffee was grain.
-Another premise or approach would be to ask, what is the head that does not have brains? Possibly we also find ourselves at a crossroads and think that all heads have them, but no. Lateral thinking leads us to know that the one that does not have it is the one with the nail.