Page 117 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

108 INTERGALACTIC THINKING

WHAT ISTHE BOX, ANYWAY? AND WHY DO WE
NEED TO THINK OUTSIDE IT?

In most areas of thought, the box is simply what’s been done, the tried-
and-true traditional thinking, the comfort zone. Basically, it’s what you
already know—“the known,” as discussed earlier, where your mind too
often gets trapped.
Why do you need to think outside the box?

Outside the box is where the future will be created.

It’s where all the solutions to all the real problems will be found (see
Chapter 2, “Creativity = Problem Solving”).

How This Innocent Little Square Limits Creativity
Name something that you know about your field. Name anything. (For
example, if you fish, you might name fishing net.) Using the writing
instrument of your choice, place a dot anywhere inside the center box
below to represent a bit of data that is in your daily realm of thought.
Now name something else you know about your field. Anything.
Again, put a dot in the center box below to represent another bit of
data you know.
You could go on for hours, making dots in your box, each one rep-
resenting different specks of data about your field. If you did continue,
completely exhausting your knowledge base, your box might end up
looking something like
the illustration on the
top of the next page.
Now name some-
thing that has nothing to
do with your field. Any-
thing. How about the
forty-first vice president
of the United States? If
Walter Mondale isn’t
already one of the bits of
data inside your box, use
your favorite writing
instrument to put a dot The easiest worksheet you'll ever do.