Im particulary new on this site, i founded trough Google and to hit the link, to it, has been the best thing that could happened to me in a long time.

My name is Nahum Correa Ruvalcaba, I’m from Hermosillo, Sonora Mexico.

Im a writer, and i want to state, that i’m truly believer of lateral thinking.

There’s a phrase i like to say to myself when something needs another approach: “this problem requires an equal or higher solution that the one wich created it”; It’s a famous quote i rode somewhere. That leads me to the premise:

1.- I know what i know
2.- I don’t know what i dont know
3.- How do i know what i don’t know

These, three points, are the basis of lateral thinking.

Lateral thinking is very useful when we’ve got a problem to solve, but, i think that we must understand first that we need info (to know what the problem is, to do research of it and understan it); This is the second point of my premise.

With a level of knowledge from the beggining that still the same (i knew what i knew); this is the first point. But it changes the very moment of my research. (now i know what i didnt knew)

Sound like a puzzle but its very simple.

Until here im just justifing, the fact, that we must read and incomporate knowledge to our daily routine.

But….

The interesting part of lateral thinking comes when you began to hit information and in your mind (in the middle of a creative process) you begin to connect the dots between that information that aparently don’t have a connection with your issue

And….

Inherently you find a method (steps, guide, another approach, etc.) that “could be useful to solve that challenge (the word problem don’t exist on my vocabulary, i dont recommend it, i preffer to name it: opportunities area, challenge,. etc. everything but problem ’cause calling it “Problem” leads my to brainstopping (a new concept)

And now at last but most important:

I can:
—————————-
a) search for a
b) find a
c) elaborate a
d) discover a
e) transform the issue into a

A solution. With my old knowledge (what i knew that i knew from the beggining) but incorporating my new point of view (what i didnt know i didnt know)

Hey, “now i know what i didnt knew”

And..

Im going to crossover with a post i rode a couple of minutes ago on this page.

To know what i didnt knew and incorporating to my thinking to refresh it and translating it in actions. Leads me to innovations.

Or, in other words. To do differently a thing that always has been done the same way.

Or. to find a new way of doing a thing that always has been done the same way.

And all that just by shifting my thoughts and my approach.

i personally dont conceive innovations in a different way.

@Chris – Brilliant Darwinian analogy!

You might be interested in my take on de Bono and Darwin here – I’m critiquing de Bono’s view of Darwin, but of course that doesn’t invalidate your excellent analogy.

Creativity requires a good foundation of knowledge and experience to take advantage of what Melody calls opportunity to recognize one when it presents itself. Lateral thinking does not work in a vacuum.