In his classic work “De Bono’s thinking course”, the master of creative thinking Edward de Bono (of the “Six thinking hats” fame) exposes a series of techniques to improve reasoning, as a sort of exhaustive “thought gym”. One of his exercises consists in the insertion of false premises in a series of thoughts. The reason to do that is that such false ideas have a “go-between value”: absurd as they are, they can establish a connection between two relevant areas of thought, whose connection would be unreachable using linear thinking.
So, absurdity does have a value. I like to see it as the lubricant that allows our big, monolithic ideas to flow. Life would be too arid without it, and, besides, pure categories do not exist in real life: many historic inventions and discoveries have started from what looked like really silly ideas.
Including the “absurdity factor” in our planning enriches it and can lead to very pleasant surprises. Besides, it is a very simple thing to do: while you are gathering ideas -and at the beginning of the process, preferably-, make sure to include at least a really weird one. An unpractical, impossible, naive idea. The kind of idea that could take you to a mind asylum.
Funny ideas. Outrageous ideas. Impossible ideas. If you want to write a book, please consider investing on an experimental program for the resurrection of Ernest Hemingway, who will gratefully help you with the dialogs. If you want to heal from your vertigo, there is always the possibility of contracting a group of crooks to sedate you and take you to the top of mount Everest…
Traditional literature on brainstorming tells us that we must put judgment aside during the process. What we do here is going one step ahead by deliberately violating the limits of good sense. A few good reasons to adopt this practice are:
- It enlarges your scope: enlarging the range of what’s impossible means enlarging the range of what’s possible too.
- It loosens things a little: imagine you are at the beginning of an important meeting, everybody has just arrived and there is silence and some uneasiness in the air. Then someone makes a tiny, funny remark, everybody laughs, and you can feel the physical relief in the room. This works the same. Sometimes we become so overwhelmed by your problems, that our approach to them becomes too serious, and that affects the results.
- It favors serendipity: a good way to brainstorm is using an egg timer, keep writing until the time is up. Then you check the results: some of the ideas will be absolutely moronic, but, in many occasions, during the process of deleting one them a new one will arise, connected to her but not that moronic this time.
- It’s good against mental block: a weird idea, the weirdest the better, gives you a sense of privacy and everything-is-possible. Your notebook or computer screen become as intimate to you as your brain.
- It Exercises our old friend, the always relegated right brain (the one in charge of creativity, strokes of genius and amazing quantum leaps, remember?)
- It “sterilizes” ideas from judgment: brainstorming comes first, you have to let everything in, and only in a second stage make the purge. Putting something really absurd on top is like a vaccine against self-criticism, a way to allow yourself to think with no limit.It’s funny! The interactions with your right side will enrich your ideas, endorphins will provide you with more energy, a clearer focus, more and better ideas, etc…
The technique is very simple to apply, but it takes some effort to make a habit of it. As often, we are our worst enemy. The current “left brain supremacy” in our society has made of all of us really severe self-censors. There always seems to be an invisible line saying “RIGHT HEMISPHERE-DO NOT CROSS”.
So, make it a habit! In the planning for your next project, make sure you include your most ridiculous and moronic thoughts in the pack. They will surely pay off!
Did you have any idea that is even more absurd than my examples? What worthwhile connections did it generate for your planning? (Don’t worry, we won’t tell anybody…)
Related posts:
The GTD First Aid kit (Part 3)
Use verbal icons for your projects
The GTD First Aid Kit (Part 2)
How to become optimistic with very little effort
The GTD First Aid Kit (and 4)