Vertical VS Lateral Thinking

OBJECTIVE
The subject aims at making the students
understand the importance of critical and
creative thinking skills. It provides the
conceptual framework to identify problems in
everyday life to make the right and appropriate
decisions.
 LATERAL THINKING
Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect
and creative approach, using reasoning that is not
immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not
be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step
logic.
Lateral thinking:
- about reasoning that is not immediately obvious
- about ideas that may not be obtainable
- seeks the solution to difficult problems through
untraditional methods
It is a way of thinking that seeks a solution to an
intractable problem through unorthodox methods or
elements that would normally be ignored by logical
thinking. When you are faced with fast-changing
trends, fierce competition, and the need to work
miracles despite tight budgets, you need Lateral
Thinking. Developing breakthrough ideas does not
have to be the result of luck or a shotgun effort.
Lateral thinking will also help with strategic planning
and thinking outside the box of everyday issues.
 LATERAL THINKING: Importance
•Ability to be able to think quickly, laterally and if
needed, sidestep conventions and rules.
• Makes new ideas possible.
• As a one way of doing this is to take two random,
unrelated ideas, and put them together to create
something new.
• Able to look at things differently, and make an unlikely
connection, this will take us to a new way of problem
solving.
• As a prepared to try a new thinking process and our
thoughts will be generative.
 Example
One day you have just played tennis with your friends, you are very
thirsty when you arrive home. You go into the kitchen and you find
a bottle of soda in the fridge. However, you cannot find a bottle
opener. The solutions to get rid of soda. The person has already
broken free from the given constrains and start to attack the
problem from different directions. Therefore, this group of
solutions are generated from lateral thinking.
Solutions:
• Drink something else, say tap water
• Or buy a drink from convenience store
• Have some fruit instead
• Keep on looking for other drinks at home.
• etc...
 VERTICAL THINKING
• Vertical thinking is selective, moves only
if there is a direction in which to move, and
also in sequential order.
• Vertical thinking :
- a method of thinking in very liner,
selective pathways.
- each step is precise, necessary and must
be correct.
- the way of thinking by exact and logical
reasoning of the situation.
-- solve the problem in direct ways.
Vertical thinking deprives of novelty, which is essential
to find and apply to innovative process solving direct
problem. It does not help generate any new ideas since it
looks for a finite approach to the problem. So, vertical
thinking helps us use details at every step. If information
is not available, no further course of action can be taken.
Therefore, we do not think one can solely depend on
this problem solving approach, especially if the problem
looks intractable.
Vertical Thinking: Importance
• Uses information for it own sake in order to
move forward to a solution.
• Each answer needs evidence.
• Aimed to evaluate what is right and wrong.
 Example
One day you have just played tennis with your friends, you are very
thirsty when you arrive home. You go into the kitchen and you find a
bottle of soda in the fridge. However, you cannot find a bottle opener. The
solutions is focus on how to open the bottle. This kind of solution is the
result of processing known theories, knowledge and experience on ways
of opening things. Therefore, this group of solutions are generated from
vertical thinking.
Solutions:
• Open the bottle with teeth
• Open the bottle with the edge of table or wall
• Borrow bottle opener from others
• Put the bottle into the fridge. Soda expands when it is frozen, the
pressure generated by the expanding soda could force the bottle to open. •
Break the bottle . etc....
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To understand the importance of thinking skills in

everyday life.
• To develop the attitude and techniques for creative
problem solving.
• To apply the basic skills for working in innovative
teams.
THANK YOU