7 lateral thinking questions to promote out-of-the-box thinking

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7 Lateral Thinking Questions to Promote Out-of-the-Box Thinking APRIL 8, 2014 BY C. PARIS The term “lateral thinking” was coined in 1967 by physician and inventor Edward de Bono, to describe a kind of out-of- the-box reasoning and critical analysis of scenarios that call for more than just typical step-by-step logic to solve. Lateral thinking is related to creative problem solving and critical thinking, all valuable skills to have, and applicable to more than just creative or scientific endeavors. So how do you improve your creative problem solving skills? Simply review the lateral thinking questions in this guide and refer to the very end of the article for answers. When we examine lateral thinking questions and scenarios, we’re forcing our minds to think critically about things that we might otherwise dismiss or fail to understand completely. In these challenges, our critical thinking strengthens. For more, check out this critical thinking and problem solving course, and this guide on specific problem solving skills and how to acquire them. What is Lateral Thinking? Before we dive into the lateral thinking questions, it’s important to know exactly what lateral thinking is, and how it differs from critical thinking. While lateral thinking is certainly “critical,” as a specific train of thought, it is not the same as what we call “critical thinking.” According to de Bono himself, while critical thinking is about examining the pieces in play in any given scenario, lateral thinking is about rejecting the “status quo” of ideas and conceiving entirely new ways of looking at a problem. It’s about bringing new pieces into the puzzle, rather than just working with what you have. You can check out this course on thinking outside the box for more detail. If you’re looking for a guide on critical thinking, check out this course, or refer to this guide on critical thinking exercises. Lateral Thinking Questions Think about what we learned above as you consider the lateral thinking questions below. Each question will have a corresponding answer at the end of this article, where we’ll briefly explain how the thinking required to solve each scenario is uniquely “lateral.” Lateral Thinking Question #1 Someone falls out of a thirty story building, but lives. With luck and their landing pad not being factors, how could they have survived the fall? Lateral Thinking Question #2 There are a dozen eggs in a carton. Twelve people each take a single egg, but there is one egg left in the carton. How? Lateral Thinking Question #3 A boat has a ladder that’s ten feet long, and hangs off the side of the boat, with its last two feet submerged in water. If the ocean tide rises five feet, how much of the ladder will be underwater? TOP UDEMY COURSES: Top Java Courses Top Python Courses Top Excel Courses Learn Excel With This GIF Tutorial Become a Web Developer from Scratch! (8 students) Excel Mastery Course (1010+ students) Advanced Excel Training (42,660+ student Coding for Entrepreneurs (4810+ students iOS Development Code Camp (1155+ stud Advanced Java Programming (735+ studen POPULAR POSTS How to Build an iPhone App from Scratch Non-Technical People: Your quick and dir guide Excel Formulas: 10 Formulas That Helped Keep My Job Code Wars: Ruby vs Python vs PHP [Infographic] Top 10 Programming Languages to Learn 2014 How to Add Ringtones To Your iPhone (Up for iOS 7) 8 Best PowerPoint Presentations: How To Create Engaging Presentations Java Interview Questions: How to crack th 15 questions Drupal vs Joomla vs WordPress: CMS Showdown [infographic] Making an App: 6 Things You Should Con Before Getting Started 10 Fórmulas de Excel para ser Más Produ

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  • 7 Lateral Thinking Questions to Promote Out-of-the-Box Thinking

    APRIL 8, 2014 BY C. PARIS

    The term lateral thinking was coined in 1967 by physician

    and inventor Edward de Bono, to describe a kind of out-of-

    the-box reasoning and critical analysis of scenarios that

    call for more than just typical step-by-step logic to solve.

    Lateral thinking is related to creative problem solving and

    critical thinking, all valuable skills to have, and applicable

    to more than just creative or scientific endeavors.

    So how do you improve your creative problem solving skills?

    Simply review the lateral thinking questions in this guide

    and refer to the very end of the article for answers. When

    we examine lateral thinking questions and scenarios, were

    forcing our minds to think critically about things that we

    might otherwise dismiss or fail to understand completely. In

    these challenges, our critical thinking strengthens.

    For more, check out this critical thinking and problem solving course, and this guide on

    specific problem solving skills and how to acquire them.

    What is Lateral Thinking?Before we dive into the lateral thinking questions, its important to know exactly what lateral thinking is, and how

    it differs from critical thinking. While lateral thinking is certainly critical, as a specific train of thought, it is not

    the same as what we call critical thinking.

    According to de Bono himself, while critical thinking is about examining the pieces in play in any given scenario,

    lateral thinking is about rejecting the status quo of ideas and conceiving entirely new ways of looking at a

    problem. Its about bringingnew pieces into the puzzle, rather than just working with what you have. You can

    check out this course on thinking outside the box for more detail.

    If youre looking for a guide on critical thinking, check out this course, or refer to this guide on

    critical thinking exercises.

    Lateral Thinking QuestionsThink about what we learned above as you consider the lateral thinking questions below. Each question will have

    a corresponding answer at the end of this article, where well briefly explain how the thinking required to solve

    each scenario is uniquely lateral.

    Lateral Thinking Question #1

    Someone falls out of a thirty story building, but lives. With luck and their landing pad not being factors, how

    could they have survived the fall?

    Lateral Thinking Question #2

    There are a dozen eggs in a carton. Twelve people each take a single egg, but there is one egg left in the carton.

    How?

    Lateral Thinking Question #3

    A boat has a ladder thats ten feet long, and hangs off the side of the boat, with its last two feet submerged in

    water. If the ocean tide rises five feet, how much of the ladder will be underwater?

    TOP UDEMY COURSES:

    Top Java Courses

    Top Python Courses

    Top Excel Courses

    Learn Excel With This GIF Tutorial

    Become a Web Developer from Scratch! (8100+

    students)

    Excel Mastery Course (1010+ students)

    Advanced Excel Training (42,660+ students)

    Coding for Entrepreneurs (4810+ students)

    iOS Development Code Camp (1155+ students)

    Advanced Java Programming (735+ students)

    POPULAR POSTS

    How to Build an iPhone App from Scratch for

    Non-Technical People: Your quick and dirty

    guide

    Excel Formulas: 10 Formulas That Helped Me

    Keep My Job

    Code Wars: Ruby vs Python vs PHP

    [Infographic]

    Top 10 Programming Languages to Learn in

    2014

    How to Add Ringtones To Your iPhone (Updated

    for iOS 7)

    8 Best PowerPoint Presentations: How To

    Create Engaging Presentations

    Java Interview Questions: How to crack the TOP

    15 questions

    Drupal vs Joomla vs WordPress: CMS

    Showdown [infographic]

    Making an App: 6 Things You Should Consider

    Before Getting Started

    10 Frmulas de Excel para ser Ms Productivo

  • Lateral Thinking Question #4

    There are ten birds perched on a fence. A farmer aims his rifle and shoots one. How many birds are left?

    Lateral Thinking Question #5

    What weighs more 100 pounds of feathers, or 100 pounds of quarters?

    Lateral Thinking Question #6

    Which countries have the 4th of July out of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia,

    and Canada?

    Lateral Thinking Question #7

    If you were alone in a dark cabin, with only one match and a lamp, a fireplace, and a candle to choose from, which

    would you light first?

    Lateral Thinking Questions: AnswersAnswer #1

    The person fell out of the first-story window. A critical thinker might try to identify possible landing pads that

    would allow survival of a thirty-story fall, but the lateral thinker will realize that the story did not specify what

    floor the person fell out of. They can safely, within the logic of the story, conclude that the person fell out of a

    ground floor window.

    Check out this course on creative problem solving for more on this type of logic.

    Answer #2

    The last person took the carton with the egg inside. This question challenges our ability to break outside of

    patterns, and introduce concepts not provided in the context of the story. Since everyone else in the story takes a

    single egg, the last person taking the whole carton is a new, but not impossible, scenario that the lateral thinker

    must conceive.

    Answer #3

    Two feet. If the ocean rises, so will the boat, and the amount of ladder under the water will remain the same. A

    critical thinker might be tempted to work out the math in this obvious trick question, but a lateral thinker will

    spot the attempt at misconstruction.

    Want more tips to promote lateral thinking? Check out Flavors of Thought, afresh thinking

    course for more ideas on thinking outside the box.

    Answer #4

    One the dead bird that the farmer shot. This is another trick question. Some people might want to answer

    seven, since the farmer only shot one bird, while others might want to twist the story and suggest the farmer

    indirectly killed the others while just firing a single bullet. The correct answer is one, because after the farmer

    fires a single shot, the other birds fly away, startled.

    Answer #5

    They weigh the same 100 pounds. This question is meant to trick the uncritical and unobservant listener from

    thinking that the material of the object affects its weight, even if there are 100 pounds of each.

    Answer #6

    They all have the 4th of July. This question is a trick that will likely work only on Americans, since in the United

    States, the 4th of July is a holiday also known as Independence Day. Their first train of thought when hearing

    4th of July will likely equate it with the holiday, making the easy answer the United States. Really, all

    countries have the 4th of July, since its just another day on the calendar.

    Answer #7

  • Answer #7

    You would light the match first. Without it, you couldnt light any of the other appliances. This is another

    question that encourages the thinker to break free of assumed patterns and think outside the box.

    Check out this course on whole brain thinkingto maximize your critical, analytical, and lateral

    thinking potential.

    If youre interviewing for a technology company, you might be asked lateral thinking questions to supplement

    questions on your engineering background. Check out this course on how to prepare for an

    interview, and this critical thinking academy coursefor tips on solving tough, lateral thinking

    questions.

    Filed Under: For Students, Humanities

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