Today we will deal with a competence of intrapersonal intelligence, which is the ability to think divergently or laterally, which allows us to relate ideas and processes in a creative way, to find different alternatives to solving a problem.
This thinking focuses on the search for new creative solutions to different problems, leaving the standard or more normal ideas.
Divergent thinking versus convergent thinking
Thus, divergent thinking would be the opposite of convergent thinking, which seeks to solve problems through predetermined steps and contemplating a single solution. Convergent thinking is characterized by the use of reason, logic, and experience. Convergent thinking occurs mainly in the left hemisphere of the brain, (logical, analytical, rational).
On the other hand, divergent thinking occurs in the right hemisphere of the brain, (imaginative, creative) and for this one must first abandon the previous ideas conceived. Divergent thinking is what drives a different and creative way of thinking.
Divergent thinking is therefore related to other emotional intelligence competencies seen above such as flexibility, creativity, search for solutions and curiosity.
Boost your divergent thinking
Characteristics of divergent thinking:
1- It is a flexible way of thinking, where different alternatives arise.
2- It encourages creativity and originality.
3- It is particularly convenient when we want to find new and innovative solutions to certain problems or situations, (thinking “outside the box”, that is, outside the “established” or expected).
HOW CAN I DEVELOP MY DIVERGENT THINKING?
This type of thinking is very common in children, although this does not imply that adults cannot train and enhance it. To do this, we will focus on:
1) Encourage our fluency: produce a large number of ideas.
2) Encourage our flexibility: create varied ideas based on different fields of knowledge.
3) Encourage our originality: create innovative ideas.
4) Encourage our elaboration: improve our ideas, to develop them with more sophistication.
I propose two types of exercises to develop divergent thinking:
• Synectics Exercises
The word “synectics” expresses a concept by inventor and psychologist William Gordon. It came to mind while working with the Invention Design Group of the Arthur Little firm in the United States of America.
According to its creator, the name alludes to the creative process as a mental activity developed in those situations where problems are posed and solved, with the result of artistic or technical inventions.
It basically refers to the ability to find unions and relationships between concepts, objects and ideas that apparently have no union at all. This exercise requires a high level of mental activity and can be exercised daily.
For example:
1-What can I do with a clothespin and a spoon?
2-What relationship could there be between the pyramid of Giza in Egypt and the Empire State Building in New York?
3-What uses can I give to a clip other than its usual use?
4-What connection could there be between the Teide volcano and Mount Everest?
• Exercises with the Scamper Technique
Thus, it is a technique proposed by Alex Osborn in 1953 and developed by Bob Eberle in 1971 in his book “SCAMPER: Games for the Development of the Imagination“. It combines methods such as “brainstorming” and consists of the sequential application of a series of questions about the problem or topic you want to think about. Asking questions about each step and studying the ideas that emerge stimulates the generation of creative ideas.
Let’s use these “filter” questions in an example. Imagine that we want to generate a different idea for our vacation.
S: Replace? Replace one element of that idea with another (what can we change about the way we spend our holidays? And the way we learn?).
C: Combine? Now combine them all (what can we do to learn something new on our vacation?).
A: Adapt? Adapt them (what do they do in other countries to learn while having fun?).
M: Modify? Modify them (how to learn and enjoy?).
Q: Use for other uses? Give them other uses (what is it about my vacation that I can do something new that I don’t know how to do?).
E: Eliminate or minimize it? Eliminate some (what if I spent some time every day of my vacation on a new hobby?).
A: Reorder or invest? Reform (what would happen if I dared to…?).
“Remember to continue developing your talent to reach your best version”
