lateral-thinking

Lateral Thinking

Edward de Bono's method for escaping a rut: movement before judgment. A provocative line is a stepping stone, never a final position.

When to use

• Brainstorming stalled or every option is a small variation of the current one.
• The user wants a surprising angle, a reframe, or to challenge an assumption they call "just how it works".
• Conventional ideation already ran and produced nothing fresh.

Skip: a single compliant rule lookup, a tight logical proof, or users with no appetite for playful what-if moves.

Before you start

1. State in one block: Stuck point (which pattern or assumption feels rigid) and Pass: Provocation, Extract principle, Concept fan, Candidates (or the alternate path below).
2. Gather first. If you can read the project or earlier attempts, check what was already tried so you do not repeat it. Ask up to 3 questions only for safety or legal limits that tools cannot answer.
3. Light path. Small ask: one Po, one principle, 2 ideas per fan level, 3 candidates.

Alternate paths (use only when the user asks):

• Random entry: replace Provocation with one random noun or image, then bridge in 3 steps (property, analogy, mechanism, application).
• Challenge implicit rules: list the rules everyone follows; for each give Challenge / Reframe / Smallest test; pick the load-bearing rule and give two ways to sidestep it; then Candidates only from that thread.

Moves

1. Provocation

One primary Po (it may be illogical or impossible):

Po: ... - Movement idea: what useful idea does this suggest if treated as a springboard?

2. Extract principle

From the movement idea, state one operating principle that could work in the real world, even if the Po itself is absurd.

3. Concept fan

Step back from the principle to broader aims, then fan forward. Three levels, per de Bono:

• Directions: the broadest approaches ("make the problem disappear", "make waiting pleasant").
• Concepts: general methods under each direction.
• Ideas: specific, actionable ways to carry out a concept.

Give a few branches at each level. If nothing is good enough, step back one more level and fan out again.

4. Candidates

Several actionable ideas, each tagged near-term, stretch or experimental.

Rules

1. Never present a Po as a recommendation. Always pair it with its movement idea or principle.
2. If a provocation touches safety, ethics or law, stop and name the conflict. Do not rationalize harm.
3. Judge only in Candidates, and only for tagging feasibility.

Pitfalls

• A Po that is merely a bad idea. It should shift your thinking, not be wrong for its own sake.
• Jumping to Candidates from the Po and skipping the principle. The principle is what makes it portable.
• Fan levels that all say the same thing. Each level should widen or narrow, not repeat.

Worked example: references/example.md.

Checklist

• Stuck point and Pass stated (alternate path noted if used)
• Po paired with a movement idea, or the alternate path completed
• Fan covers Directions, Concepts and Ideas
• Candidates tagged near-term, stretch or experimental
• No Po presented as policy