02-06-2013, 01:16 PM
'Lateral thinking' implies a process of 'thinking horizontally'. The opposite, of course, is 'vertical thinking': the classic approach of "if this then that, else other" analysis. The problem with that approach is that the initial start point defines and narrows the consequent range of solution possibilities. To argue that there must be an initial defined range in which the solution must exist misses the point: yes, there must be a defined range, but that does not imply, per se, that the solution set can only be obtained by a 'downwards filtering approach'. Despite my interest (and approval) of mathematics as an academic subject and its value as a problem solving tool, it does encourage vertical thinking. However, there are occasions when I have been reading mathematical texts when I have read a statement and asked "Err - where does that line of reasoning come from?" And the answer is usually that the author has taken a 'sideways jump' out of the main line of logical argument and displayed an alternative route to a successful solution. Hence, it would seem that a mix of lateral and vertical thinking is the optimum strategy for problem solution.
Al.
Al.
