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Teach Yourself to Think

By Edward de Bono (includes links to many of his other books)

teach yourself to think

Amazon link: Teach Yourself How To Think

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What about feelings and values?

You may believe that feelings and values are the most important things in life.

You are right.

That is why thinking is so very important.

The purpose of thinking is to deliver to you the values you seek just as the purpose of a bicycle is to get you to where you want to go. A bicycle uses less energy; gets you there faster and allows you to go much further. So thinking allows you to enjoy your values more effectively.

You are locked in a room. You desperately want to get out. You want freedom. Your feelings are very strong. Which is the more useful, this very strong feeling or a key to the lock?

Feelings without the means to carry them out are not much good. At the same time, the key without the desire to leave the room is also not much good.

We need values, feelings and thinking. Feeling is no substitute for thinking. Thinking without values is aimless.

This book is about thinking. Values and feelings are equally important but insufficient without thinking.

teach yourself to think to/loposo/go thinking structure

Contents:
- Why … Because … What about feelings and values
  - Why
  - Because
  - What about feelings and values?
- Foreword
  - This book offers a simple approach
  - Who will read this book?
  - Those not interested in improving thinking
- Introduction
  - This section is only for a few readers
  - A frame for the rest of the book
    - Perception provides the ingredients for thinking
    - Over-reliance on logic
    - Foresight and hindsight
    - The Gang of Three
      - Socrates
      - Plato
      - Aristotle
      - Limitations of the traditional thinking system
      - What about the progress in science and technology?
      - Argument vs. Parallel Thinking
    - Inadequacies of the traditional thinking system summary (new thinking about thinking)
    - Illustrations
- The Five Stages of Thinking
  - TO symbol
  - LO symbol
  - PO symbol
  - SO symbol
  - GO symbol
  - The symbols used in conjunction with the words
  - Later sections in the book
  - Thinking situations differ greatly
- Some Basic Processes in Thinking
  - Broad/Specific, General/Detail
  - Projection
  - Attention Directing
  - Recognition and Fit
  - Movement and Alternatives
- Frameworks
  - The Six Thinking Hats
    - The White Hat
    - The Red Hat
    - The Black Hat
    - The Yellow Hat
    - The Green Hat
    - The Blue Hat
    - Use Of The Hats
      - Single or occasional usage
      - Sequential usage
  - The CoRT Thinking Programme
    - CoRT 1
      - These are now very widely used. Each tool is assigned a name so that the tool can be learned and used deliberately. These names have a useful perceptual purpose. The names are derived from the initials of the process that is being requested. The basic tools are as follows:
      - PMI Plus, Minus and Interesting. Direct your attention to the Plus points, then the Minus points and finally the Interesting points. The result is a quick assessment scan.
      - CAF Consider All Factors. What should we take into account when we are thinking about something? What are the factors involved?
      - C&S This directs attention to the 'Consequences and Sequels' of the action. The request is for a forward look at what will happen later. Different time-scales can be requested.
      - AGO What are the Aims, Goals and Objectives? What are we trying to do? What are we trying to achieve? Where are we going?
      - FIP First Important Priorities. Direct attention to those things which really matter. Not everything is of equal importance. What are the priorities?
      - APC Alternatives, Possibilities and Choices. Create new alternatives? What are the possibilities? What are the choices?
      - OPV Direct attention to Other People's Views. Who are the other people involved? What are their views?
    - The tools are used explicitly and directly
- TO Where Do I Want to Go To?
  - Thinking Action
    - Define
    - Redefine
    - Alternative Definitions
    - Smaller Definition
    - Larger Definition
    - Breaking It Down
    - Change
    - The 'right' definition
      - The Concept Fan
      - Working Forwards
      - The Dog-leg Approach
      - Constraints and Qualifiers
  - Problems
  - Different Thinking Situations
    - Problem
    - Task
    - Achieve A Dream
    - Invention
    - Design
    - Improve In A Defined Direction
    - Negotiation
    - Get This Information
    - Carry Out A Task
    - Plan
    - Organize
    - Choice
    - Decision
    - Judge
    - Communicate
    - Explore
    - General Improvement
    - Opportunity
    - Change (think about it)
    - Peace, Excitement Or Happiness
    - Cope With Change
    - Formulate A Dream
    - Initiative
    - Outcome, Review And Summary
    - Neutral-area Focus
    - Blank-sheet Creativity
    - Explanation
    - Looking Into The Future
    - Crisis
    - Strategy
    - Creative Thinking
  - General Summary
    - Area Focus
    - Purpose Focus
  - Summary of the TO Stage
- LO The Information Stage (see also Six Frames For Thinking about Information)
  - Is Information Enough?
  - Sources of Information
  - Questions
    - Fishing Questions
    - Shooting Questions
  - Quality of Information
  - Perception
  - Feelings
  - Analysis
  - The Search for Information
  - Making the Most of the Information
  - Information Is Not Enough
  - Summary of the LO Stage
- PO What are the Possibilities?
  - PO and Possibility
  - Three Levels of Possibility
  - Making the Connection
  - The Four Basic Approaches
    - 1. The Search for the Routine
      - Analysis
      - Similarity
      - Transform the Problem
      - Three Thinking Situations
        
        Situation A The Car Park
        
        Situation B The New Restaurant
        
        Situation C The Graffiti Problem
    - 2. The 'General' Approach
      - Working Backwards
        
        Three thinking situations
      - The Concept Fan
        
        Three thinking situations
      - The 'Something' Approach -- Magic Words
        
        Three thinking situations
        
        Situation A The Car Park Problem
        
        Situation B The new restaurant
        
        Situation C The Graffiti Problem
      - Summary of the General Approach
    - 3. The Creative Approach
      - The Challenge Process
        
        There are three basic questions
        
        Outer World
        
        Inner World
        
        The Use of 'Challenge'
        
        The three thinking situations
      - Provocation
        
        Movement
        
        Setting Up Provocations
        
        The three thinking situations
      - Random-entry Provocation
        
        Three thinking situations
        
        Situation A Car Park Problem
        
        Situation B The New Restaurant
        
        Situation C The Graffiti Problem
      - Summary of the Creative Approach
    - 4. The Design and Assembly Approach
      - List The Needs
      - Lead With Priorities
      - Concept First
      - Parallel Input
      - Everyday Design
      - Three thinking situations
        
        Situation A The Car Park Problem
        
        Situation B The New Restaurant
        
        Situation C The Graffiti Problem
  - Summary of the PO Stage
- SO What Is the Outcome?
  - Sequence
  - Development of Possibilities
    - Shaping Ideas
    - Tailoring
    - Strengthen The Idea
    - Fault Correction
    - Practicality
    - Acceptance
    - Cost
    - Simpler
    - Take The Concept
  - Evaluation and Assessment
    - Values And Benefits (also see Six Value Medals)
    - Difficulties And Dangers
    - Feasibility
  - Choice
    - Stronger And Weaker
    - In And Out
    - Priorities
    - Direct Comparison
    - Greed, Fear And Laziness
    - Final Evaluation
  - Decision
    - Decision Frame
    - Decision Need
    - Decision Pressure
    - Scenario
    - Risk
    - Outcome
  - Looking Back: the Reasons
  - Summary of the SO Stage
- GO Putting the Thinking to Work
  - Operacy
  - Simple Output
  - Routine Channels
  - The Design of Action (also see The Six Action Shoes)
    - Stages
    - Objectives And Sub-objectives
    - Flexibility And Routine
    - Checks And Monitoring
    - Fall-back Positions
  - People
    - Acceptance
    - Motivation
    - Obstacles
    - Incentives And Expectations
    - Effectiveness
    - Task Forces And Groups
    - Experts
  - Energy
    - Amplification
  - Planning
  - Summary of the GO Stage of Thinking
- Situation Coding
  - The Coding
  - Should Be
  - Summary
- Summary
  - The Five Stages of Thinking
    - TO 'Where am I going to?
    - LO 'Lo and behold.'
    - PO 'Let's generate some possibilities.'
    - SO 'So what Is the outcome?'
    - GO 'Go to It!'
  - Simpler
  - Backwards and Forwards
  - Enjoy Your Thinking Skill

TO-LOPOSO-GO.pdf

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