Shahram Chaudhry
In these two chapters, the author emphasizes the importance of lateral thinking and suspended judgment in driving innovation and progress. They highlight the blurred distinction between backward and forward thinking, where backward thinking involves reevaluating progress and adapting future actions, while forward thinking entails creating something new. I believe that both approaches are complementary, as moving forward often necessitates reflecting on the past.
Suspending judgment is a valuable skill because the fear of being wrong often inhibits our exploration process. The constant need to be right, ingrained in us through vertical thinking, limits our creativity. Unfortunately, the prevalent banking system of education worldwide largely promotes vertical thinking. For instance, in high school, if we struggled to solve a particular type of question, teachers would simply instruct us to memorize the method. While this approach may yield immediate results, it proves detrimental in the long run as we fail to truly learn. This is why lateral thinking is essential.
Lateral thinking focuses on being right in the end, rather than constantly judging throughout the process. It allows for various ways of restructuring information and ideas, even if they may not initially appear correct, as they can lead to sound outcomes. By delaying the evaluation of ideas and refraining from discarding those that seem wrong, we can overcome the fear of being incorrect and extract the most value from each idea. Even when we are wrong, the author suggests that we should focus on how seemingly incorrect ideas can propel us forward. The example provided by the author of carrying water in a bucket with holes is compelling. While most of the water may flow out, there is still progress towards the ultimate goal of transferring water. It is a better approach than being disheartened and doing nothing. In fact, using the broken bucket may even inspire us to think of alternative solutions, as necessity is the mother of invention.