By definition, lateral thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves looking at challenges from unexpected angles rather than pursuing a step-by-step logical approach.
It was invented/popularized by Edward de Bono in the late 1960s and involves creative reasoning that isn't immediately obvious.
Edward de Bono was a Maltese physician, psychologist, and philosopher who revolutionized our understanding of thinking processes.
In the late 1960s, he coined the term "lateral thinking" and unlike traditional academic approaches to cognition, de Bono argued that the human mind could be trained to think more creatively and effectively.
This was coming from the backdrop that most people are trapped in habitual thinking patterns partly thanks to the formal education system.
There's sufficient evidence that points out that as children, we didn't start off thinking straightforward. Ask a four-year-old how to catch a lion and they could suggest using a time machine to catch the lion before it was born.
Most children start as natural lateral thinkers, unencumbered by the rigid constraints of conventional reasoning. Their imagination knows no bounds, and they approach problems with a sense of wonder and possibility that adults often lose.
To me, it makes sense that our thinking begins to change drastically when we start formal education.
Teachers would indirectly say something like "There's only one right answer, and it's on page 49 of your textbook."
This is straightforward and leaves no room for alternative perspectives.
Now, to add another layer to it, people graduate and get into the traditional workforce where phrases like "that's not how we do things!" start becoming the norm.
The brain more or less adjusts further towards rigid, conventional thinking patterns.
To create some form of contrast between other modes of thinking:
At a glance, lateral thinking seems to be the most insensible form of problem-solving.
That was my impression too, and it took me some time to understand its true usefulness.
In practice, lateral thinking works more or less as a creative problem-solving muscle.
A designer stuck on a product problem could approach it by imagining how a child or an alien would solve it.
As a writer experiencing a writer's block, I could well decide to randomly select three unrelated words from a dictionary and weave them into the narrative, then trick my brain into making unexpected connections.
The usefulness is basically about breaking free from traditional thought patterns.
In an age of information explosion, why not put on this thinking hat and jump from point A to point H without having to walk through all the way from A to H?
This keeps the mind lightweight, so to speak. Able to move swiftly across dozens of information points without the burden of linear, constrictive reasoning.
Of course, lateral thinking is not a replacement for critical thinking, but a complementary approach.
In my own case, I wouldn't mind making it a second preferred mode of thinking after critical thinking.
There's a lot of smokescreen around the interwebs and in real life, despite spotting them out being easier than before.
Employing a bit of lateral thinking, one could say that the smokescreen reveals more about the fears and limitations of those creating it than the truth they're trying to obscure.
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