Six Thinking Hats

(Mostly from Wikipedia)

“Cogito, ergo sum” (English: “I think, therefore I am”) is a philosophical statement in Latin used by René Descartes, which became a foundational element of Western philosophy. The simple meaning of the phrase is that if someone is wondering whether or not he exists, that is in and of itself proof that he does exist (because, at the very least, there is an “I” who is doing the thinking).

Those who still think that they do not exist, this might not be what you want to read. But if you are convinced that you do think and exist, let’s move to the next step: let’s think about how you think.

In a new book publish in 1967 “New Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking,” Edward de Bono coined a new term: “lateral thinking” for the solution of problems through an indirect and creative approach. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

While critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the truth value of statements and seeking errors, lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. A person would use lateral thinking when they want to move from one known idea to creating new ideas.

There are four types of “thinking tools” defined in Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking: The Power of Provocation manual:

• Idea generating tools that are designed to break current thinking patterns – routine patterns, the status quo
• Focus tools that are designed to broaden where to search for new ideas
• Harvest tools that are designed to ensure more value is received from idea generating output
• Treatment tools that are designed to consider real-world constraints, resources, and support

Edward further refined his lateral thinking theory in another book, “Six Thinking Hats,” published in 1985. The premise of this research is that the human brain thinks in a number of distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence planned for use in a structured way allowing one to develop strategies for thinking about particular issues. Dr de Bono identifies five distinct states in which the brain can be “sensitised”. In each of these states the brain will identify and bring into conscious thought certain aspects of issues being considered (e.g. gut instinct, pessimistic judgement, neutral facts).

Perhaps the most compelling example presented is the idea of sensitivity to “mismatch” stimuli as a particularly strong tendency. This is presented as being a valuable survival instinct – because in the natural world the thing that is out of the ordinary may well be dangerous. This is identified as the root of negative judgement andcritical thinking.

Six distinct states are identified

• Neutrality (white) – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts?
• Feeling (Red) – instinctive gut reaction or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)
• Negative judgement (Black) – logic applied to identifying flaws or barriers, seeking mismatch
• Positive Judgement (Yellow) – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony
• Creative thinking (Green) – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes
• Process control (Blue) – thinking about thinking

In order to make it easier to clearly identify and work with these states the use of coloured hats as metaphors for them is used; each state is symbolised by the act of putting on a colored hat, either actually or imaginatively. The use of these metaphors also allows more complete and elaborate definition of the states thus getting past the preconceptions inherent in using peoples current language.

Is there a correlation between thinking skills and fashion? Definitely. If you happen to have six different hardcore color hats, you have to think very hard about which to wear for different social gathering. It’s most probably that you have to try them all until you find the right one. However, the more you practice choosing hats, the more capable you become to pick out the right one. When you don’t even have to think when you choose your hat, you will be a thinking master.

This “unconscious competence” – the ultimate in mastery – has been described by Allen E. Ivey and Mary Bradford Ivey in the story of Samurais: “Japanese masters of the swords learn their skills through a complex set of highly detailed training exercises.  The process of masterful sword work is broken down into specific components that are studied carefully, one at a time.  In this process of mastery, the naturally skilled person often suffers and finds handling the sword awkward.  The skilled individual may even find his or her performance worsening during the practice of single skills.  Being aware of what one is doing can interfere with coordination and smoothness.  Once the individual skills are practiced and learned to perfection, the samurai retire to a mountaintop to meditate.  They deliberately forget what they have learned.  When they return they find the distinct skills have been naturally integrated into their style or way of being. The samurai then seldom have to think about skills at all: They have become samurai masters.”