A Question of Lateral Thinking

There are six eggs in the basket. Six people each take one of the eggs. How can it be that one egg is left in the basket?

Try it; let’s see if u can answer this question. You would if you were familiar with Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking methods. His new book How to Have Creative Ideas: 62 exercises to develop the mind (Paperback) is a tool book for such exercises.

This is certainly not for the faint hearted. It focuses on the use of a technique of lateral thinking: the random word. Its premise is that the mind sometimes needs a random input to stimulate a productive train of thought. One picks a word at random and then juxtaposes it to the task. The random word generates new ideas that would have been unlikely in the normal course. In this, there’s is no story. It’s a toolbox for thinking to face life in the real world.

The whole book comprises of 62 games designed to help you learn to make connections where none appear on the surface.

de Bono, a psychologist and physician, has written 70 books with extensive translations. His instruction on thinking have been sought by many organizations: Boeing, BT, Nokia , Sanofi, Rolex, Siemens, 3M, Ericsson, GM, Nestle, Bosch, Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young and many others.

He writes prolifically about lateral thinking - a concept he pioneered. He defines lateral thinking as methods of changing concepts and perception, wherein innovation and creativity can be improved by using his methods. de Bono is a master of this game and given us tools to develop our minds, to learn, to grow and to live.

Now the answer to the question above: The last person took the basket with the last egg still inside.

G Ravi