lateral thinking

Thinking in a creative non-linear manner. The concept of lateral thinking was invented by Maltese-born academic and ‘thinking consultant’ Edward de Bono, one of the few people who can claim to have changed the way the world thinks. De Bono pioneered the investigation into creative thought, arguing that creativity was essential in a self-organizing system. His key book, The Mechanism of Mind (1969), was years ahead of its time, anticipating future work on the link between chaos theory, non-linear and asymmetric patterns, and perception.