As a math major, I have been trained, in all my courses, the practice of vertical thinking. The mathematics that I study are strictly based on provability of axiomatic procedures – in which we start off from some known axioms, and then prove one theorem after one another like pushing dominoes. This process, as what the book will describe, is staying in one hole but digging it very deep (one set of theories is based on one set of axioms). Upon reading this short introduction, I suppose that the process of redesigning the axioms then incorporates lateral thinking. This reminds me of a recent research I did with a professor on probability theory. We managed to replace one of the three basic probability axioms, then we worked out some interesting theorems and observations. This process, indeed, includes destructing what’s previously given and making new things out of new starting points, and therefore lateral thinking.
Thoughts on Otis
- He’s a friendly person that I feel like is easy to get to.
- I like his improvisation a lot! I have been playing saxophone for a long time, but I’m not quite sure how he made the airy sound. It’s pretty impressive.
- He’s very creative.
- He genuinely enjoys what he’s doing and encouraging us to do things that we enjoy. I like his mentality.