Book Brew 57: Game On - Unlocking Creative Genius with Lateral Thinking

I like to play games. Games were a huge part of my childhood—whether they were board games (Clue was one of my favorites!) or card games (huge Canasta fan), in our house, we played a lot of games. Gonna date myself a bit here, but once computer games became a thing, I played a lot of those, too (Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Myst, The Island of Dr. Brain, Diablo—these were just a few of my favorites). We had a Nintendo and eventually Super Nintendo, so the Super Mario Bros were key.

Even now when there are games literally on every device available to you, and many deem them as “time sucks,” I still play games. Why? Well, for one, I find that it helps my brain go to a different place and allows my subconscious mind to work on a problem at hand. If I get stuck on a particular problem or am just a bit overwhelmed and need to take a little break, I find that allowing my mind to work on a different type of puzzle helps me to subconsciously come up with solutions.

Lateral Thinking: The Key to Breaking Mental Blocks

Again, why? Why does this work (at least for me)? Well, part of what I am coming to understand from reading Edward de Bono’s book Lateral Thinking is that we oftentimes get stuck in vertical thinking, where we follow a step-by-step process along a linear path that only leads to one correct answer. Lateral thinking, on the other hand, is a more creative approach that allows us to explore possibilities that are completely outside the box and even nonsensical, which helps lead us to a unique solution. Lateral thinking is more about generating ideas, no matter how crazy or impossible they might sound.

“You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper. Vertical thinking is used to dig the same hole. Lateral thinking is used to dig a hole in a different place.” Edward de Bono

How Games Boost Creative Problem-Solving

So, what does gameplay do to help us come up with solutions?

• Think Beyond the Obvious: It allows us to think beyond the obvious and devise innovative strategies for solving puzzles or winning games.
• Break Routine Patterns: It breaks up our routine linear thinking patterns by putting us through unique challenges.
• Promote Mental Flexibility: It promotes flexibility in our mindset by requiring us to adapt to quickly changing situations and devise new solutions quickly.
• Stimulate Imagination: This may seem obvious, but it stimulates our imagination, especially with games that have scenarios far from reality.
• Build Confidence in Risk-Taking: It can even help us to build our confidence because it allows us to explore more risks in the safe environment of the game. Lateral thinking involves taking risks by exploring new ideas; games help us to be more confident with that.

What Games Am I Playing Now?

Here are a few of the games I play on a regular basis:

• NYT Games (Damien, my mom, and I play these and share our results with each other every day through a group Discord chat)
  • Wordle
  • Connections
  • Crossword
  • Spelling Bee
  • Tiles
  • Sudoku
• Quordle
• Paragon Pioneers 2 (a bit obsessed with this one of late)
• Solitaire
• FreeCell
• Spider
• Diablo III

Ponder This

1. What’s a game you played recently that challenged you to think in a completely new way? How did it change your approach to problem-solving?
2. Can you recall a time when a solution to a real-world problem came to you after playing a game? How did the game influence your thinking?

Books

• Lateral Thinking - Edward de Bono