Thinking the Fun Way

How creative are you? To find out, try to answer a very simple question.
You may think that the question has only one answer and say “4.” If you think outside the box, however, you will realize that there may be more than one answer, like this:

Or like this:
Every day we face a lot of questions. We often try to find one correct answer. However, there can be many different answers. Your answers depend on how you view the questions. Throughout the ages, many people have shaped human history by viewing things differently and thus developing ideas that were unique and useful.

One such person was Johannes Gutenberg. In Gutenberg's world, two devices were in common use: the wine press and the coin punch. The first one pressed grapes to make wine, and the other made images on coins. One day, Gutenberg playfully asked himself: “What if I took a bunch of these coin punches and put them under the wine press so that they left images on paper?” In the end, his idea of linking the two devices led to the birth of the modern printing press. This changed history forever. Gutenberg did not pull his idea out of thin air. He knew about the two devices of his era. He knew how they worked and what they could do. In other words, the roots of the invention were already there. What Gutenberg did was view the two devices in a new way and combine them. In this way, Gutenberg exemplifies what the modern inventor Steve Jobs noted, “Creativity is just connecting things.” Creative thinking was also behind Josephine Cochrane's invention of the modern dishwasher. Before her time, people used to place dishes in a dishwasher, add water, and let scrubbers clean the dishes. There was a problem, though. The scrubbers sometimes badly damaged dishes. Cochrane approached the process of dishwashing differently. She used water itself ― water pressure ― instead of scrubbers. She thought that high water pressure would do the job of scrubbers and damage the dishes less. Her machine, which pumped hot, soapy water onto dishes, became successful in restaurants and, later, in homes. This example again shows that creativity is the result of thinking differently. Can we learn to think differently or more creatively like these famous inventors? Luckily, the answer is “yes.” Creative thinking is a skill, and we can improve it. To think more creatively, look for many possible answers, not just one. Ask yourself, “What if ...?” or say to yourself, “Imagine ...” Also, do not be afraid of making mistakes. When you do make mistakes, try to learn from them. As Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Most importantly, do not forget that creativity is based on knowledge and experience. You need to keep learning new things. That way, you will have the tools for creativity. Who can imagine Shakespeare without his understanding of poetry or Beethoven without his ability to play the piano?

Quiz
Now let's go back to the first question. How creative are you? Read the questions below and try to think outside the box. Good luck!
1. Which of these numbers is different from the rest? Can you think of more than one answer? Give reasons for your answers.
2. Which word is different from the others? Can you think of more than one answer? Compare your answers with your partner.

Why Riddles?
Lots of people enjoy riddles because they offer a chance to think in fun ways. The answers to riddles are rarely obvious. To solve a riddle, you have to think creatively. You need to collect clues and think outside the box. Try this riddle, for example: "I am lighter than a feather, but no one can hold me for long. What am I?" Do you know the answer? There are two useful clues: something lighter than a feather and possible meanings of the word "hold." If you combine the clues and think hard, you may be able to figure out the answer, "breath." Your breath is obviously lighter than a feather, and you cannot hold or stop it for long. Now, see if you can solve another riddle: "There is a green house. Inside the green house there is a white house. Inside the white house there is a red house. Inside the red house there are lots of babies. What is it?”