Lateral Thinking
topic
Lateral thinking — Edward de Bono's concept of the deliberate use of non-sequential, indirect, and creative associative approaches to problem solving — involves deliberately moving away from the most obvious associative path from a problem to its solution, taking indirect routes through unexpected conceptual territory, and using a variety of specific techniques (random word, provocation, challenge, alternatives) to disrupt the gravitational pull of the most available associative pathway and discover less obvious but potentially more productive connections.
Role
Lateral thinking addresses the most fundamental limitation of ordinary associative problem solving — the vertical digging phenomenon in which thinking deepens along the most available associative path rather than exploring alternative paths that might be more fruitful. Most problem-solving fails not because the thinker lacks intelligence but because they are digging vertically in the wrong place: following the most available associative pathway to its depth rather than exploring laterally to find a more productive starting point. De Bono's lateral thinking techniques operationalize the associative disruption that produces the change of perspective from which new connections become visible.