LATERAL THINKING: WHAT IS IT, EXERCISES AND RIDDLES - PSYCHOLOGY

The lateral thinking reflects a way of solving problems, it is seeking alternatives and solutions creatively, indirect, trying not to fall into the most obvious and immediate options.

It moves away from vertical logic, which is the traditional method of solving problems (step by step, following the available data). Nor is it identified with the so-called “horizontal” thinking, which is about having many ideas, but not knowing how to detail them to put them into action.

The first to speak about lateral thinking was Dr. Edward de Bono in 1967. For him there are very intelligent people because they have accumulated a lot of knowledge. However, there are others who have average intelligence, but have extraordinary thinking strategies that lead to success. This is lateral thinking.

In short, it is a habit of thinking that is excellent for analyzing conflicts, solving them and increasing motivation. More and more companies value that their workers put lateral thinking into practice, and are even beginning to evaluate it in job interviews.

Lateral thinking exercises

Lateral thinking can be trained through multiple exercises. Some of them can be a real challenge if you are not used to seeing things from another perspective.

The lateral thinking exercises that I will explain below will help you train your creativity, ingenuity, and ability to innovate.

1- Generation of random relationships

Choose a random object or a noun, and try to associate it with the topic you are dealing with at the moment or the problem you want to solve.

To make it easier to choose the word, you can use a dictionary. Write down all the relationships you can think of, no matter how strange they are!

For example, if we randomly choose the noun "chair" and want to solve the problem of "how to lose weight", there would be several relationships:

Raise a chair to do bodybuilding.
Run around a chair.
Play a game involving the chair with other people.

2- Challenge of ideas: the reason for things

Start using "why?" but in a comprehensive, open and instructive way. The goal is to challenge any idea. The more established it is in our mind, the better. Remember to avoid obvious and typical explanations.

An example would be asking yourself the following question: "Why do coffee cups have handles?" The most obvious answer would be: "so as not to burn ourselves."

However, we can question this fact: “yes, but the cups could have separate handles for each finger, or two handles on each side. Or, why should the coffee be hot? "

Try asking yourself these questions with phenomena around you and try to find alternative and ingenious ideas. Here are some questions for you to practice:

Why do colors exist?
Why are the keyboard keys arranged that way?
Why do the shirts have buttons?
Why are televisions rectangular?

After these exercises, it will surely be easier for you to solve these riddles that I add below:

Riddles

You can see the answers to the riddles at the end.

3- The bottle of wine

Imagine a bottle of wine, half full and stoppered with a cork. How could you drink wine without removing the cork or breaking the bottle?

4- The glass cleaner

The boy who cleaned windows in a skyscraper was on the 25th floor when he slipped and fell. He was not wearing a safety harness and nothing slowed his fall. However, he had no injuries, how do you explain it?

5- The dead man in the meadow

They find a dead man in a meadow. There is a closed package near you, and there is no other person, animal, or any being in that place. How he died?

6- The three rooms

You have to choose between three rooms:

a) In the first, there is a fire.

b) The second is full of tigers that have not eaten in 3 months.

c) And the third is full of assassins with loaded machine guns.

What room would you choose?

7- The abandoned house

Imagine that you are alone, at night, in an abandoned house. There you find an oil lamp, a candle and wood; But you only have one match What would you light first?

8- The cake

Using only a straight cut, how would you cut a rectangular cake into two equal parts when a rectangular piece has been previously cut?

9- The man from the tenth floor

A man lives on the 10th floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator from his house to the ground floor to get out. When he returns, he takes the elevator and hits the seventh floor. Then go up the ladder to the 10th floor. Why do this?

10- the cat

What part of the cat has the most hair?

11- coffee

This morning I dropped an earring in my cafe. And although the cup was full, the earring did not get wet. How could it be?

12- The race

During a race, you overtake the second runner. What position are you in?

13- The war

In World War I, soldiers were required to wear a brown cloth cap. Soon, the military authorities began to be alarmed by the large number of head injuries. For this reason, they made the decision to replace the cap with metal helmets. However, the incidence of head injuries increased.

Furthermore, the intensity of the war did not change, it was the same as before. Why do you think the number of head injuries increased after implanting the metal cases instead of the caps?

14- The hungry dog

A dog is tied by the neck to a 2 meter long rope. How can he reach a bone that is 4 meters from him?

15- The days

Name three consecutive days without using the words "Tuesday," "Thursday," or "Saturday."

16- The 20-story building

How can a person fall from a twenty-story building and survive? It doesn't matter what it falls on, nor is it related to luck.

17- the bear

A man built a rectangular house, and each side faces south. He saw a bear, what color was it?

18- Connect the dots

Connect the 9 points using four straight lines or less without lifting the pencil from the paper, or drawing the same line more than once. You can print the image to make it easier.

19- The armed waiter

A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water. The waiter crouches looking for something. At the moment he draws a gun, and points the man with it. He pauses, before saying “thank you” and leaving. What happened?

20- World record

In 1930, two men traveled in a Ford car from New York to Los Angeles, a journey of 5,375 kilometers that took place in 18 days.

It was not the fastest or slowest trip or the first to be made. The car was normal, as were the roads and drivers. However, these men broke a world record thanks to this tour. Why?

21- The old woman, the friend and the couple

One night with a severe storm, you are driving through the city when you see three people at a bus stop:

- An old friend who saved your life.

- An old woman who seems about to die.

- The perfect couple that you have always wanted to meet.

You can only choose one passenger. Who would you ride in your car?

22- The killer firefighter

Following an anonymous call, the police enter a house to arrest an alleged murderer. They do not know what he looks like, they only know that his name is John and that he is inside the house.

In the house they find four people: one is a carpentry, another drives a truck, the other works in a mechanical workshop and the last one in the fire station.

Without asking any questions and without a moment's hesitation, they immediately arrest the firefighter. How did they know he was the culprit if they only knew his name and profession?

23- The driving license

A lady left her driving license at home. She did not stop at the crosswalk, ignored the no-go sign, and traveled three streets in the wrong direction on a one-way street. A traffic officer saw all this and did not react. Why?

24- The eggs

There are 6 eggs in a basket. 6 people take one egg each. How can an egg still be in the basket?

25- The stranger in bed

For work reasons, Mr. González traveled abroad and returned home 2 months later. When he entered his house, he found his wife sharing a bed with a stranger. For this reason, Mr. González was very happy, how do you explain it?

26- The cup of tea

A man was drinking a cup of tea when he suddenly went blind. What happened?

27- Sell the truth

One manufacturer claimed that if middle-aged people told the truth more often, he would sell far more products. What did it manufacture?

28- The suitcase

Pedro went into a luggage store to buy a suitcase. The clerk told him: “It is very strange that customers buy suitcases. Why don't you rent it? " Why did you say this?

29- The movie

Tom and Joe went to see a movie. There were many other people there. During a quiet scene, Tom pulled out a gun. Joe yelled, "Don't shoot!", But Tom shot him.

When Tom tried to leave the theater, the audience held him back. The police were there and did not capture him. Why?

Answers

3. The wine bottle: Plunging the cork into the bottle.

4. The glass cleaner: I was cleaning the windows inside the building.

5. The dead man in the meadow: The man jumped out of a plane because he was going to crash. The closed package near him was the parachute, which did not work.

6. The three rooms: The second room. If the tigers haven't eaten in three months, they will be dead.

7. The abandoned house: The match.

8. The cake: You cut the cake horizontally, at half height (parallel to the top).

9. The man on the tenth floor: The man is a dwarf, and his height allows him to press the button for the ground floor, while the button for the seventh floor is the maximum he reaches.

10. The cat: The outside is the part of the cat that has more hair.

11. Coffee: We tend to think that coffee must be liquid, but it could really be beans or powder, that's why the earring didn't get wet!

12. The race: If you pass the second person, then you are the second.

13. War: It is not the same to have a head injury than to die. With the cloth cap, if a soldier was shot in the head he would probably die, very few survived with a head wound. However, with the metal helmet, head injuries increased, but the death toll decreased.

14. The hungry dog: Running, since the rope that is tied around his neck is not tied anywhere.

15. The days: Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

16. The 20-story building: You can survive if you fall from the first floor.

17. The bear: The bear was white in color, since only at the North Pole can the four walls face south.

18. Connect the dots:

19. The armed waiter: The man came to the bar asking for a glass of water to solve his hiccups. The waiter chose to scare him by pretending he was going to shoot him to remove his hiccups. He finally succeeded, so he said "thank you" and left without having to drink the glass of water.

20. World Record: They broke the record because they went all the way in reverse. Those men were Charles Creighton and James Hargis.

21. The old woman, the friend and the partner: You can take the old woman to the hospital, or choose to take your friend to return the favor. But you probably won't find the person you like again.

What is the most suitable answer? Give the car keys to your friend to take the old woman to the hospital, and wait for the bus with the person of your dreams.

22. The killer firefighter: They knew because everyone else in the room was female.

23. The driver's license: He did not react because the lady was walking.

24. The eggs: There is still one egg left because the sixth person took it into the basket.

25. The stranger in bed: The stranger in bed is about your son, a newborn baby.

26. The cup of tea: the man had left the teaspoon in the cup when he drank, and it hit him in the eye, leaving him temporarily blind.

27: Sell the Truth: Made candles for birthday cakes.

28. The suitcase: Pedro was in the western part of Tokyo. The houses there are very small, and usually people try to save space as much as possible. One way to do this is to rent large items that you will use occasionally, such as suitcases.

29. The movie: Tom and Joe were the protagonists of the movie. Tom shot Joe in a scene from the movie. When Tom was leaving the theater, people held him back because they were fans asking for autographs.

Other activities and games to stimulate creativity and brain

Mind games for the brain.

Tricky questions.

Questions of logic and reasoning.

Mental agility and intelligence test.

References

Lateral thinking. (sf). Retrieved on October 21, 2016, from Wikipedia.
Lateral Thinking Puzzles. (sf). Retrieved on October 21, 2016, from Lateral Thinking and Logic Puzzles.
Lateral Thinking Skills. (sf). Retrieved on October 21, 2016, from the University of Kent.
Sandrini, CE (nd). What is lateral thinking? Retrieved on October 21, 2016, from Colegio General Belgrano.
Sloane, P. & MacHale, D. (1994). Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Sterling Publishing Co., New York.
The ideas and works of dr. of Bono. (sf). Retrieved on October 21, 2016, from Dr. Edward de Bono.

LATERAL THINKING: WHAT IS IT, EXERCISES AND RIDDLES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025