What BLOCKS your thinking?

This continues the questions and comments that came from MindPrep 196 – You Tell Me.

Ken wanted more re: “thinking blocks” and four versions of the future. Here are the thinking blocks. I’ll send the “four futures” in a few days.

Thinking Blocks: we all have them!

Marcel Straub on Unsplash

“This book is concerned with the cultivation of idea-having and problem-solving abilities.” When I read that line about forty-five years ago, I knew I had found a book that I wanted to read. I was right.

The author is not a “brain dude;” he’s an engineer. And he was concerned about real world challenges. His definition of a conceptual block is “the mental walls that block the problem-solver from correctly perceiving a problem or conceiving its solution.”

The Book

Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas, James Adams, 1974 (The latest edition, the 5th, came out in 2019.)

The book addresses four types of conceptual blocks:

• perceptual blocks,
• emotional blocks,
• cultural and environmental blocks, and
• intellectual and expressive blocks.

They are briefly explained below, along with some examples. If you want to dig deeper, get the book. It’s a good read.

“Perceptual blocks are obstacles that prevent the problem-solver from clearly perceiving either the problem itself or the information needed to solve the problem.” Examples include:

1. Detecting what you expect – stereotyping.

2. Difficulty in isolating the problem.

3. Inability to see the problem from various viewpoints.

4. Saturation / extreme familiarity.

Emotional blocks: “The expression of a new idea, and especially the process of trying to convince someone else it has value, sometimes makes you feel like an ass, since you are doing something that possibly exposes your imperfections.” Examples include:

1. Fear of taking a risk, of making a mistake.

2. Inability to tolerate ambiguity.

3. Preference for judging rather than generating ideas.

4. Inability or unwillingness to incubate, to “sleep on it.”

Cultural & Environmental Blocks: “We are members of many cultures. …. regions … religious beliefs, age, ethnicity, values, and other shared characteristics. … Insensitivity to cultural factors inhibits creativity. …” Examples include:

1. Taboos

2. Fantasy & reflection are a waste of time, lazy, even crazy.

3. Playfulness is for children only.

4. Problem-solving is serious business and humor is out of place.

Intellectual and Expressive Blocks: Intellectual blocks result in an inefficient choice of mental tactics or a shortage of intellectual ammunition. Expressive blocks inhibit your vital ability to communicate ideas – not only to others, but to yourself as well.” Examples include:

1. Solving the problem using an incorrect language (verbal, mathematical, visual)

2. Inflexible or inadequate use of intellectual problem-solving strategies.

3. Lack of, or incorrect, information.

4. Inadequate language skills to express and record ideas (verbally, musically, visually, etc.)

The above sixteen examples should give you an idea of where you might be blocked. Get the book, do the exercises, and find more. It’s a fun read.

Cheers,

Bill