Edward de Bono
Edward de Bono
Edward de Bono is a Maltese physician, psychologist, author, inventor and consultant. He originated the term lateral thinking, wrote the book Six Thinking Hats and is a proponent of the teaching of thinking as a subject in schools...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPsychologist
Date of Birth19 May 1933
spring ideas immortality
Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea.
effectiveness tools purpose
Effectiveness without values is a tool without a purpose.
judging design judgement
We still seek to solve conflicts with 'judgement' instead of designing the way forwards.
thinking car creative
Complacency with our traditional judgement based thinking methods is not enough. Our existing thinking habits are excellent just as the rear wheel of a motor car is excellent but not enough. We need to put far more emphasis on creative and design thinking. Judgement and analysis are not enough.
creativity ideas giving
Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea.
change thinking perception
Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. It is concerned with the perception part of thinking. This is where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then 'process'.
school thinking taught
I think school is a place where thinking should be taught.
beautiful mind attractive
A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen.
fun creativity interesting
Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.
honesty social-values long
Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination - so long as we do not assume we have arrived there.
ignorance writing history
In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better.
thinking quality our-future
The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future
memories book opportunity
One can think of a secretary actively operating a filing system, of a librarian actively cataloguing books, of a computer actively sorting out information. The mind however does not actively sort out information. The information sorts itself out and organises itself into patterns. The mind is passive. The mind only provides an opportunity for the information to behave in this way. The mind provides a special environment in which information can become self-organising. This special environment is a memory surface with special characteristics.
important precedence urgent
What is urgent will always take precedence over what is important.