Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono / Multilateral Thinking

[Tom Merilahti]

Edward de Bono invented the term 'lateral thinking' in 1967. It was first written up in a book called "The Use of Lateral Thinking" (Jonathan Cape, London) - "New Think" (Basic Books, New York) - the two titles refer to the same book.

For many years now this has been acknowledged in the Oxford English Dictionary which is the final arbiter of the English Language.

There are several ways of defining lateral thinking, ranging from the technical to the illustrative.

1. "You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper"

This means that trying harder in the same direction may not be as useful as changing direction. Effort in the same direction (approach) will not necessarily succeed.

2. "Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and perceptions"

With logic you start out with certain ingredients just as in playing chess you start out with given pieces. But what are those pieces? In most real life situations the pieces are not given, we just assume they are there. We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries. Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. Lateral thinking is concerned with the perception part of thinking. This is where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then 'process'.

3. "The brain as a self-organising information system forms asymmetric patterns. In such systems there is a mathematical need for moving across patterns. The tools and processes of lateral thinking are designed to achieve such 'lateral' movement. The tools are based on an understanding of self-organising information systems."

This is a technical definition which depends on an understanding of self-organising information systems.

4. "In any self-organising system there is a need to escape from a local optimum in order to move towards a more global optimum. The techniques of lateral thinking, such as provocation, are designed to help that change."

This is another technical definition. It is important because it also defines the mathematical need for creativity.

These definitions originates from 1967, but how would you define "Multilateral Thinking"?

TOM

SICU Synergy Solutions Group Network (SICU SSGN)

[Yvette Dubel]

Excellent post, Tom!
And a great question. For myself, I define multilateral thinking as being able to see multiple perspectives or sides of a situation/thing without losing sight of the whole. That is not only the parts of the thing being observed, but also that object as part of a larger whole.

I think the holon is still the best expression I have encountered to express this:
A holon (Greek: holos, "whole") is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part. The word was coined by Arthur Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine (1967, p. 48).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holon (philosophy)

Systems Thinking is another framework that applies and that I have referenced, especially in economic and community development projects.
Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots.” The Fifth Discipline, The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Senge, (Doubleday: 1990)