Divergent (lateral) thinking is a special way to solve problems. Using it, a person tries to look at a problem from various angles. Lateral thinking was introduced by Edward de Bono. This outstanding thinker is the author of other concepts: “6 hats of thinking”, “6 medals of assessment” and others.
Lateral thinking is also referred to as non-standard, non-standard, lateral, lateral and so on. This method is designed, if necessary, to complement conventional, traditional, vertical techniques. Understanding the need to use non-standard approaches came first of all to those people and organizations whose lives and activities are closely connected with creativity, with the ability to create new ideas.
Flexibility of thinking is the main condition for the selection of non-standard methods. The mechanism of a non-standard approach is the destruction of habitual, well-established stereotypes. Consciousness and thinking are closely interconnected. The second destroys patterns. Consciousness, in turn, accepts new ideas. In some cases, new thoughts and ideas may not seem very good, but many of them, with proper structuring, have quite a lot of potential and broad prospects.
Lateral thinking can be applied in various fields of activity. So, non-standard approaches can be used at work, if the specificity of the activity involves creativity, requires constant updating of ideas or ways out of various crisis situations. For example, in business very often there are situations in which a well-told joke allows you to defuse the tense atmosphere in the team. Lateral thinking can be used on vacation, choosing, for example, a place to go on vacation.
The main task of the unconventional approach is, according to some authors, overcoming the search cliche. Consciousness is considered as a passive system, as an environment in which information is independently organized.
It is believed that a person has very limited attention per unit of time. Often, some people reproach others for being "obsessed" with the problem. The principles of lateral thinking do not allow information to be firmly established, blocking access to new data. A non-standard approach allows you to combine existing knowledge with it, often forming completely new and unexpected combinations.
An unconventional way of solving the problem does not aim to achieve a specific single result. In lateral thinking, fact does not have unconditional power. A non-standard approach is only a special method of using information to solve a problem, a way to try, search, move on.
In lateral thinking, three main methods are shared: ordering, correlation, and structuring.
Neuropsychologists have identified a relationship between the non-standard (divergent) approach and the convergent (standard) approach and the cerebral hemispheres. So, it is known that the left is responsible for logical thinking, and the right for intuitive perception.
Based on the tasks, a person can use one or another hemisphere. So, for example, the artist is more actively right, and the accountant - left.
The associativity of the unconventional approach allows the use of inner freedom. The characteristic features of divergent thinking should include "fluency of perception." It reflects the ability to create multiple ideas at once. Another characteristic of thinking outside the box is flexibility. This property provides the ability to quickly move from one point of view to another. Equally important is the presence of non-triviality - the ability to form original ideas.