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10 Mental Blocks

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10 Mental Blocks

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    Slide 1:10 Mental Blocks Roger von Oech

    Slide 2:Ten Mental Locks

    The right answer That’s not logical Follow the rules Be practical Play is frivolous That’s not my area Don’t be foolish Avoid ambiguity To err is wrong I’m not creative

    Slide 3:Conceptual/Mental Blocks

    The right answer Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one we have Look for the second right answer, then… e.g., five figures at start of chapter

    Slide 6:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    That’s not logical We need a combination of “hard” and “soft” thinking Two main phases in the development of new ideas: an imaginative phase (thinking something different) and a practical one (getting something done)

    Slide 11:Exercise (p.46/50/62)

    Make a metaphor for a current problem Compare your concept to something else, then see what similarities you can find See how far you can extend the comparison e.g., disciplining a ten-year old is like performing a magic trick

    Slide 12:Metaphor Exercise

    Look at metaphor examples p.48/52/66 Make at least two of your own (re the meaning of life) Share in groups, discuss briefly Report out

    Slide 13:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    Follow the rules Rules, patterns, and the past are both useful and constraining Creative thinking may simply mean the realization that there is no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done Consider the stance: every rule here can be challenged except this one

    Slide 18:TRIPLETS

    A triplet is a set of three words that are linked by a common fourth word, consider, e.g.: ELEPHANT - HOUSE - SNOW What word could link these three words? (it can appear either of before or after each of the three words to form well-known compound words or phrases) An answer for this triplet is WHITE, as in: WHITE ELEPHANT, WHITE HOUSE, & SNOW WHITE

    Slide 19:Some Triplets to Try

    BOARD - HOLE - JACK DOUBLE - ROAD - STITCH MAKER - TENNIS – STICK

    Slide 20:Triplet Exercise

    All teams have the same puzzle sheet but each team has a different set of clues. Find the link word for each triplet and write it in the appropriate blank. Scoring (time to solve & points): 3 minutes, 100 points 4 minutes, 80 points 5 minutes, 60 points 6 minutes, 40 points 7 minutes, 20 points >8 minutes, 10 points Copy the first letters of the link words to see an important message about teams.

    Slide 21: 1. REIN - HUNTER - SKIN 2. RIG - CRUDE - SNAKE 3. BAD - BULLETIN - FLASH 4. ROBBERY - EXPRESS - WAGON 5. CHEESE - ICE - SOUR 6. SECOND - POLL - PUBLIC 7. BELT - BLOOD - ORDER 8. BRUSH - OIL - SPRAY 9. DOUBLE - LEVEL - BLANK 10. AGREEMENT - FREE - SECRET 11. FIRE - ARTIST - NARROW 12. DUTY - RADIO - VOICE

    Slide 22: 13. WEAR - WATER - TAKER 14. GROUP - GUIDE - PACKAGE 15. COUPLE - JOB - NUMBER 16. MAN - BITTER - CABINET 17. INSURANCE - ORANGE - SECRET 18. LIFE - LIMIT - PART 19. AGE - PUMPING - WAFFLE 20. INSTANT - READY - VIDEO 21. FARM - CRACKERS - PARTY 22. READING - STICK - UPPER 23. PAINS - UNION - MANUAL 24. SUBMARINE - FEVER - JACKET

    Slide 23:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    Be practical Ask what if? The impractical can be a stepping stone Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist after growing up

    Slide 24:Exercise Avoiding Be Practical Lock

    Pick a problem you are trying to solve or idea you are trying to develop Apply one or more of the techniques in this chapter to the problem What if someone else were solving your problem? What if you were the problem or idea? What could be a stepping-stone?

    Slide 25:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    Play is frivolous If necessity is the mother of invention, play is the father; use it to fertilize your thinking Play is what I do for a living. The work comes in organizing the results of the play.

    Slide 26:Play is Frivolous (cont.)

    Consider a Möbius strip One-sided surface Interesting properties Practical applications, e.g.: Conveyor belts Continuous-loop recording tapes Superconductors with high transition temperature Nano-graphite with new electronic characteristics, such as helical magnetism

    Slide 27:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    That’s not my area Specialization can not only overly limit problems we consider, but block ideas from other fields “Make it a point to keep on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are currently working on.” (Edison)

    Slide 28:Lunch with someone different

    In group of 2-3 Use one of pairings on p.139 or your choice of two lunch partners Brainstorm what they might learn from each other about “the meaning of life” If you have time, repeat with a different pairing

    Slide 29:“The most reliable source of innovation is the unexpected.” - Peter Drucker

    Slide 30:Bionics (borrow from nature)

    Elm tree seeds Hooked spines on burr Snake thermoscopic vision (0.002 C) Bamboo stalk (composite fibers) Bee eyes (facets filter polarized light) Seals’ hearing apparatus Beehive hexagonal construction Reliable celestial compass Infrared photography Velcro Improved helicopters Stronger, lighter pool tables Improved hydrophone design Fiberglass-reinforced plastics

    Slide 31:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    Don’t be foolish Resist excessive group pressures for conformity Occasionally, turn your “stupid monitor” down, play the fool, and see what crazy ideas you can come up with

    Slide 32:When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

    But watch out for groupthink

    Slide 33:Alfred Sloan in GM board meeting

    “That makes it unanimous, so I’m going to table it… We’re looking at this idea in just one way, and this is a dangerous way to make decisions. When everyone thinks, alike, no one is doing very much thinking.” (p.155)

    Slide 34:Exercise – Playing the Fool

    In groups, someone puts out briefly a difficult situation they are puzzling about All help view it from a different/reverse viewpoint If time permits, repeat with a different situation

    Slide 35:Participation assignment for next time

    Read and think about Heraclitus’ epigrams about life, nature, and the cosmos (p.200/202) Pick a favorite and discuss (write) what you think it means, possibly with more than one interpretation Turn in at beginning of next class

    Slide 36:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    Avoid ambiguity “If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.” (George S. Patton) Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think about what else it might be.

    Slide 38:Paradoxes

    Real knowledge is knowing the extent of one’s ignorance. -Confucius Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. -Picasso There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally. –(Judge) Learned Hand Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness. –Chang Tzu

    Slide 39:Exercise – Random Cues

    Follow Oech p. 140/148/190: Pick some project decision, or problem you have right now Pick a random number and go to that word on next page Think about how the random thing applies to your situation

    Slide 41:Heraclitus’ Epigrams (200/202)

    What was one of your favorites? Talk a bit about it Other thoughts about the same one? Another favorite one:

    Slide 42:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    To err is wrong If you hit every time, the target is too near or too big You miss 100% of the shots you never take (Wayne Gretzky) Differentiate between errors of commission and those of omission - learn how to fail intelligently

    Slide 44:Conceptual/Mental Blocks (cont.)

    I’m not creative Visualization and self-fulfilling prophecies “What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are.” (Epictetus)

    Slide 45: There is a natural tendency to compare ourselves with others. Unfortunately, when we make these comparisons, we tend to compare our weakest attributes with someone else’s strongest… It is obvious that these kinds of comparisons are destructive and only reinforce the fear that somehow we don’t measure up. (Marvin Ashton)

    Slide 46:To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will. (Sugar Ray Robinson) Visualization and self-fulfilling prophecies

    Slide 47:Successful Visualization

    Three elements within you that determine how successfully creative visualization will work for you in any given situation: Desire Belief (that preparation and visualization can help you have the result you seek) Acceptance (of that which you are seeking) Net effect of these three is intention

    Slide 48:Discover your own creative self

    Look at von Oech’s ten p.222 Identify some things about your creative style, for example: Situations when you are/have been more creative Things that help you be creative Blocks to overcome… Take notes for yourself

    Slide 49:Successful, creative people are able to shift flexibly among four types of roles Each involves a different type of thinking

    Explorer Artist Judge Warrior

    Slide 50:Explorer

    Search for new information and resources Facts, concepts, experiences, knowledge, feelings... Look off the beaten path, outside the usual

    Slide 51:Artist

    Turn these resources into new ideas Experiment with a variety of approaches, follow your intuition Rearrange things, look at things backwards Ask “what if” questions, look for hidden analogies and connections Break rules

    Slide 52:Judge

    Evaluate the merits of an idea and decide what to do with it Weigh evidence critically, look for drawbacks in the idea, ask if the timing is right, question assumptions Make a decision

    Slide 53:Warrior

    Carry your idea into action Implement your idea, develop strategy, commit yourself Overcome excuses, obstacles, setbacks Have courage to do whatever it takes

    Slide 54:Take a whack at it

    Slide 55:Take a whack at it springboard off von Oech’s ideas starting on p.237

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