Lateral Thinking: The Art of Thinking Sideways
Coined by psychologist Edward de Bono, lateral thinking is the art of thinking sideways. It’s about breaking the rules, seeing hidden angles, and solving wicked problems with imagination, not just information.
The Dive
Linear thinking is like a highway: direct, efficient, and rooted in what already works. Lateral thinking? That’s a hike through the forest—you might wander, trip over a root, or discover a breathtaking view no one’s ever seen before.
Lateral thinking is especially useful when the problem has no obvious solution, or when traditional methods just aren’t cutting it. Think of wicked problems—complex, tangled, and defiant of formulas. These require more than logic. They require a leap.
Tools like SCAMPER help you think differently by guiding you through specific ways to change or improve an idea. SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Rearrange. Each part of SCAMPER is a creative prompt that helps you break out of old thinking patterns and look at problems in new ways. Substitute: What can I replace? Could I swap one material, step, or person with something else? Combine: What happens if I mix two ideas together? Can I merge tools, features, or tasks? Adapt: What can I adjust to make this idea work better? Has something similar worked elsewhere? Modify: Can I change the shape, color, size, or timing of something to improve it? Put to another use: Can this idea or object be used in a totally different way? Eliminate: What can I remove to make this simpler, faster, or more effective? Rearrange: What if I change the order or layout of things? What if I flip the process? Using SCAMPER, you might turn a boring spreadsheet into an interactive map or change a stale design into something exciting and new. It’s a powerful tool for unlocking creativity, whether you're solving a problem, designing something, or just trying to think outside the box.
Methods like 'random entry' and 'bad ideas' help you think in surprising ways. 'Random entry' means picking a completely random word or object and trying to connect it to the problem you're trying to solve. Even if it seems unrelated, it can spark new ideas by forcing your brain to make unexpected connections. The 'bad ideas' method asks you to come up with the worst or silliest ideas you can think of. Once you do that, you look at them closely to see if there's anything useful hidden inside. For example, a bad idea might reveal an overlooked need or a deeper issue that people don’t usually talk about. These techniques work because they push you beyond your usual thinking and help you discover new possibilities.
Mind maps, metaphors, and provocations shake loose assumptions. When you disrupt the usual, you discover the unusual—and sometimes, the breakthrough.
Lateral thinking doesn’t ignore logic—it stretches it. It’s the bridge between imagination and innovation, the secret sauce behind ideas like Uber or TikTok. You don’t always need a better solution. Sometimes, you need a better question.
Why It Matters
In a world changing faster than your group chat memes, we need thinkers who can see beyond the obvious. Lateral thinking helps kids (and grownups) question the status quo, embrace uncertainty, and invent the future—not just inherit it. It’s how you get from 'that’s impossible' to 'why didn’t we think of that sooner?'
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How does lateral thinking differ from traditional problem-solving methods?
What’s an example of a real-world problem that could benefit from a lateral thinking approach?
Why do you think schools often prioritize linear thinking over creative thinking?
Can lateral thinking be taught, or is it an innate skill?
How might you use SCAMPER to improve a product or process you use every day?
Dig Deeper
As we get older, the work we consistently do builds "rivers of thinking." These give us a rich knowledge of a certain kind of area. The problem with this, however, is that as those patterns get deeper, we get locked into them. When this happens it becomes a challenge to think differently — to break from the past and generate new ideas. How do we get out of this rut? One way is to bring play and game mechanics into workshops. When we approach problem-solving from a perspective of fun, we lose our fear of failure, allowing us to think boldly and overcome built patterns.
Since the explosion of the knowledge economy in the 1990s, generalist inventors have been making larger and more important contributions than specialists. One theory is that the rise of rapid communication technologies allowed the information created by specialists to be rapidly disseminated, meaning generalists can combine information across disciplines to invent something new. Here, David Epstein explains how Nintendo's Game Boy was a case of "lateral thinking with withered technology." He also relays the findings of a fascinating study that found the common factor of success among comic book authors.
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Further Reading
Stay curious!