Teaching Creative and Lateral Thinking

Critical thinking is more normal than creative thinking. It is always easier to destroy than to construct. For survival we need critical thinking, but for progress we need creative thinking. A group of critical thinkers around a table is a silent group. It requires one thinker to generate a new idea before the critical thinkers can function, as trained, by analysing and checking the idea for errors. A group of creative thinkers, on the other hand, would asses the idea for value and if possible use the idea as a springboard for a better idea. The critical thinker will often use ‘but…’ whereas a creative thinker will use ‘but also…’ or ‘but what if…’. What we have lost through time because of negativity, and jumping in critically, rather than listening with an open mind, will never be known. The following exceptions provide some indication of what could have been lost over time because of negativity.