Lateral Thinking

Definition and Characteristics

Lateral thinking is associated with insight, creativity and humour. Insight,
creativity and humour are intangible aspects created through patterns developed
by lateral thinking[1]. Patterns created by lateral thinking are correspondingly
related to logical approach considered towards a situation, which is outside the
conventional approach observed around us. Lateral thinking can be thus involves
suspending logical linear thinking, instead breaking out of patterns to explore an
issue in new ways from new angles[2]. The definition summarises the following
characteristics of lateral thinking:
Lateral thinking is closely related to creativity. Though creativity is too often the
descriptions of a result, lateral thinking is the description of the process. In order
to be creative one needs to use and handle information and supporting
knowledge leading to logical and unconventional ways of dealing with a situation
or issue. For example, the solar bottle bulb (showed in class) is an
unconventional means of generating electricity unlike the conventional norm of
producing electricity using coal.
Lateral thinking is concerned with changing patterns or breaking out of the
concept prisons of old ideas and generation of new ideas and insights. Insight
can be determined through alterations in a (old) sequence. The effectiveness of
new ideas and insights can be however, experienced only after the new process
has been implemented. Accordingly, as suggested in the previous point lateral
thinking focuses on the process than on the end-result. This also implies that
new ideas generated through lateral thinking may not necessarily by successful
but can be reconsidered to generate more new and different ideas
Lateral thinking is both an attitude and method of using information. As an
attitude, lateral thinking challenges arrogance of rigidity and dogma. It
acknowledges the usefulness of an existing pattern but also aims towards
building a different pattern not just as an alternative but as logical approach. For
example, in the Trichy police case study, J. K. Tripathy treated communal tensions
in Trichy not by the conventional norm fear or force but through community
building (Refer to powerpoint slides titled lecture 12).
Lateral thinking is never a judgment. Lateral thinking does not hold a pattern to
be wrong but the rigidity of the same to be wrong. For example, in the Trichy
police case study, fear and force is a standard norm considered in many cities
like Mumbai and is highly subjective. There are various characteristics of crime in
Mumbai especially the communal dynamism, population, connectivity, etc. that
may seem feasible in terms of managing crime in Mumbai. There are however,
exceptions within Mumbai where certain communities collaborate among
themselves and help Mumbai police to tackle crime. The key factor in lateral
thinking is the way information can be used, altered and which then becomes a
part of the line of development.

Lateral thinking is directly related to the information handling behaviour of the

mind. The need for lateral thinking arises from the limitations of a selfmaximising memory pattern. Lateral thinking aims at breaking old patterns in
order to liberate information. Self-maximisation means maximising ones own
potential, which in turn perpetuates ones memory system to create new
patterns. For example, in the Trichy police case study, past practises of fear and
force may have not been a feasible approach based on Mr.Tripathys past
experience and a more sensitive approach was considered in Trichy that reduced
communal tensions and crime and enabled community development.
Techniques
Techniques considered in lateral thinking are simple problem solving techniques
that can be used in anybodys day-to-day lives. These techniques are detailed
below:
(A) Generation of alternatives
The most basic principle of lateral thinking is that any particular way of looking
at things is only one from among many other possible ways. Hence, is the first
step involves generating alternative ways of stating the problem. In the example
examined in class, the examples problem can be any of the following:
Why would women with children and bags travel in crowded trains?
Why would women with children and bags travel in trains during peak hours?
Should women with children and bags be allowed to travel in crowded trains
during peak hours?
Why isnt there enough space in trains for everyone to travel anytime of the day?
Please note that the above questions are based on the reactions of most
students when this example was discussed. The question in bold is the actual
problem statement related to the example. i.e. Why isnt there enough space in
trains for everyone to travel anytime of the day? Here the problem is not
enough space and not women with bags and children or travelling in trains
during peak hours.
The second step is to generate alternative approaches to the problem. In our
example, if the existing circumstances were not changed, the expected
alternative approach would be when other working women and students were
considerate and accommodated the women with bags and children. If the
existing circumstances were allowed to be changed then the space factor can be
tackled by introducing more coaches for women.
Another example can include: A one pint milk bottle with half a pint of water in it.
State the problem and find approaches to solve the problem.
(B) Challenging assumptions

Consider a problem about a man who worked in a tall building. Each morning he
got in the lift on the ground floor, pressed the lift button to the 10th floor, got out
of the lift and walked up to the 15th floor. At night he would get into the lift on
the 15th floor and get out again on the ground floor. What was the man upto to?
Various explanations can be derived from the above mentioned from the above
mentioned problem and they can be the following:
The man wanted exercise
He wanted to talk to someone of the way up from the 10th to the 15th floor
He wanted to admire the view as he walked up
He wanted people to think he worked on the 10th floor as it might have been
more prestigious
In reality, the man acted in this peculiar way because he had no choice. He was
short in height and could not reach higher than the 10th floor button. The above
mentioned explanations are generally based on a natural assumption that the
man is perfectly normal and it is his behaviour that is abnormal. Such
assumptions without supporting basis could lead to various problems.
Correspondingly, all assumptions and generalisations should be challenged and
one approach to challenging assumptions is by asking questions. The questions
enable reducing the situation into simplest components that gives a detailed
view of the underlying problem in a particular situation.The Why technique is
one approach that can be considered to determine the root-cause of a problem.
This tool is used by asking why to the end-result and then questionining
backwards to the starting point. For example, Why is our client AB Corp
unhappy?. Answer: Because we did not deliver our services when we said we
would. Why were we unable to meet the agreed-upon timeline or schedule for
delivery? Answer: The job took much longer than we thought it would. Why did
it take so much longer? Answer: Because we underestimated the complexity of
the job. Why did we underestimate the complexity of the job? Answer: Because
we made a quick estimate of the time needed to complete it, and did not list the
individual stages needed to complete the project. Why didnt we do this?
Answer: Because we were running behind on other projects. We clearly need to
review our time estimation and specification procedures.
The Why technique is easy to use technique and can be applied to determine
the root-cause of any problems or issues. However, the effects of the technique
could be subjective and one could consider other techniques in addition to this
techniques.
(C) Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce something new through imaginative skill which
could be a new solution to a problem, a new method or device or new artistic
object or form. Please refer to the explanation on creativity in lateral thinking in
the previous section. Nevertheless, broad steps for creativity include: Identifying

and defining the problem or focus are; Generating different ideas to solve the
problem and; Implementation.
(D) Design Process
Design is a convenient format of practising lateral thinking. The first step
involves suggesting projects or ways of improving existing things. For example,
an apple picking machine that picks apples from trees. The second step is to
identify different functions or varieties of functions. For example, the apple
picking machine can reach out to apples, pick the right apples, transport the
apples to the ground, sort out the apples, put the apples in containers and move
onto he next tree. The third step is to critically evaluate the design for omissions,
for errors of mechanics, for errors of efficiency, etc. For example, the apple
picking machine can have a container attached to itself that picks the right
apples and place it in the containers rather than to the ground and then sort
them later before moving to the next tree and save time. The why technique
can be also used in the design process for critically evaluating any idea
(E) Dominant Ideas and Crucial factors
The dominant idea is an organising theme that is often present but not
necessarily defined and must be defined. For example, the Trichy police case
studys dominant idea was to curb communal tensions, the women with bags
and children examples dominant idea was that of less space in trains and the
apple picking machine examples dominant idea is convenient way of picking
apples. Alternatively, crucial factor refers to a tethering point or some element in
the situation, which must be always included no matter how one looks at the
situation. For example, in the apple picking machine example, crucial factor is
that the machine should pick ripe and not damaged apples. The women with
bags and children examples crucial factors include, bags and children and peak
hours travelling. Also, trichy police case studys crucial factor is the reduction in
communal tension and image of the police. Identification of dominant ideas and
crucial factors is a critical technique that could be useful in research and analysis
of various industries and businesses. One of the best ways of learning this
technique is by reading newspaper (business) articles and analysing information
in between lines.
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