Customer Reviews

Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first time I encountered 'Thinkertoys' it was actually the first edition released during the early 90's, when it was also about the time I began to explore the various options with regard to my mid-life transition. In fact, I had initially spotted an interesting review in the Entrepreneur magazine.

I managed to trace the publisher & had immediately ordered the first 100 copies for my debut bookstore. It became the best seller in my store for many years. Then came 'Cracking Creativity' a few years later as well as the accompanying brainstorming card deck, Thinkpak, to 'Thinkertoys'.

What impressed me most is not so much the creativity tools outlined in both books. In fact, the most productive learning experiences I got out of both books are a few very important things, which I would like to share with readers.

Let's take a look at Thinkertoys. In the Introduction, the author started off with a visual puzzle: 'Can you identify the figure below?'

Only by shifting your focus, you can then see the hidden word within the figure.

In the author's own words, "...by changing your perspectives, you can expand your possibilities..."

Let's move to 'Cracking Creativity'. In the Introduction, the author introduced a simple arithmetic equation: What is half of thirteen?

The subsequent passages as outlined in Part I: Seeing What No One else in Seeing, & Strategy I: Knowing How to See, by the author revealed the secrets to getting many possible answers (or perspectives) to the above equation.

No creativity tool outlined in the above two books (or elsewhere in the world, for that matter) can help you to become more creative until you fully understand - & appreciate - what the author is trying to drive home in his two books.

In a nut shell, it basically boils down to one important thing: Use - & enhance - your power of vision! or power of observation!

The author may not be the first person to postulate this crucial aspect of creativity.

I would consider Leonardo da Vinci to be the first person to have understood & practised it religiously. He said, among a few other things, LEARN TO SEE THE WORLD. In fact, he put a lot of emphasis on using your senses, especially your sense of sight.

Edward de Bono had also broached this valuable concept in his groundbreaking series of lateral thinking books, starting with 'Mechanism of Mind' in the 70's.

I have always believed that you can't do things differently until you can see things differently.

Learning to see the world anew & from different perspectives is imperative if one wants to be more creative.

According to de Bono, creativity starts at the perceptual stage of thinking. He terms it, First Order Thinking. He added very beautifully: "This is where our perceptions & concepts are formed, & this is where they have to be changed. Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic."

The creativity tools, whether they are from the author's books or elsewhere, will then automaticlaly fall into place & make more sense when you have first exercised your power of vision or observation.

Using any tool is a piece of cake, but changing one's perception - & maintaining fluidity of perception as well as having multiple perceptions - takes concerted efforts.

It is also important to take note that when things (or tactics) don't seem to work out as planned, always remember to check out your observations of the world first. Simply ask:

- what do you CHOOSE to see?
- where do you DIRECT your attention?

The second most productive learning experience I got from the above two books is realising that all thoughts are simply feats of association &/or juxtapositions - & the crux of creativity (in fact, also learning) are making associations &/or juxtapositions. [Tom Peters, in his wonderful book, Liberation Management, drives home with this insightful nugget: "The essence of creation - in all endeavours - is chance connections between ideas and facts that are previously segregated. Entrepreneurship is the direct by-product of chance, of convoluted connections among ideas, needs and people." According to Leonardo da vinci, everything is connected to everything else. My question: CAN YOU SEE IT?] The creativity tools outlined by the author are specifically designed for this purpose.

The third most productive learning experience for me is understanding the differential between productive & reproductive thinking. To paraphrase the author: "...in productive thinking, one generates as many alternative approaches as one can, considering the least as well as the most likely approaches...in contrast, reproductive thinking fosters rigidity of thought..." More relevant aspects about the significance of & more specific strategies to develop productive thinking are excellently covered by the author in 'Cracking Creativity'.

To end this review, & in the light of what I have written, I would consider the author's two books as the dynamic duo...to be among the best in the genre!

So, about 6 months ago, I was in Barnes and Noble taking a look around through the business/marketing section and stumbled across this book. From the title to the chapter names to the example provided on the back of the book, I just knew this book was for me.

Not so.

I thought I would be met with "hundreds of ... puzzles," but was disappointed to find that out of "hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, tales, and puzzles," the puzzles took a back seat (I shouldn't be surprised, considering they threw "puzzles" on the end of that short list). Instead, I found myself constantly met with psychological and philosophical "tips" on everything from how to transform my negative thoughts so as to view myself in a positive light to rather child-like suggestions for thinking "outside of the box." I suppose my preconceived definition of "Thinker Toys" was a bit too complex. I expected to be mentally challenged, not consulted by Dr. Phil or have it feel assumed that there was NO WAY I could have possibly come up with the answers the author has given for various puzzles (which is how it seems when he explains to you why you couldn't see or think what you "should have" seen or thought).

Not to mention, I was frustrated by particular puzzles in which an over-thinker (such as myself) could have EASILY solved a problem had it not been posited/imaged as it was. One shining example, if you have the book, is on page 29. There's a guy in a room with two ropes extending down from the ceiling. The challenge is to tie the ropes together, but the problem is that they're hanging down far enough apart that you can't grab one while holding on to the other. "The room is bare, and you have only the things with you that you have in your pocket today. How do you solve the problem?"

The authors solution? Tie a small object to one of the ropes and set it in motion so that it will swing to you while you're holding the other rope. Sounds decent, right? Well, not only did I have nothing in my pockets the day I read that puzzle, but the problem here is that the illustrations show the ropes so close to the walls and so far apart from one another that there's no way you could swing one to build up enough momentum to get to you! As soon as it hit the wall, bye-bye momentum. Now, you might say, "well, the illustrations were just that -- illustrations. The question didn't specify that the walls of the room were the same as what you see in the pictures!" Good point! And if that's the case, then what the illustrations ALSO don't show you is the door leading to the staircase OUTSIDE the room where you can go climb up it, get on the roof, pull both ropes up to you one at a time, then stretch them out along the roof and tie them together! Voila!

Now, I realize that may seem petty or downright ludicrous, but breaking "the rules" to solve a problem only creates a new rule. If you're going to present problems and have someone try to envision a particular correct scenario (instead of every POSSIBLE scenario) based on what the problem does and doesn't specify, then please be more accurate in the portrayal of said problem. Here again, petty it may seem, but once I started viewing the author's puzzles in THAT light, the solutions to them were limitless (some, downright ridiculous) and I found myself more frustrated when my answers didn't match up to his because something was not specified or things were assumed.

Frustration aside, the book may well be a great starting point for people with a very rigid train of thought. The one thing to remember, which I suppose the author is trying to promote, is to do away with expecting a set of rules that will define the limitations you're to work within. If you're a logical thinker, then get ready to start thinking that 0 + 1 = 2. How is that possible? Easy! '0' and '1' are numbers. How many numbers do you see in the equation 0 + 1? That's right, 2! The answer is 2!

Now, don't bother telling me how many levels that's wrong on, because it will do you no good. The one all-encompassing caveat which allows the author to get away with similar scenarios is that anything is possible when thinking "outside of the box." Creative, mind-melting stuff that will change your life or pointless exercise in frustration that in no way enriches your approach to problems? You decide.

I am both creative and logical in my world view, so my frustrations have to do with trying to approach this book from both trains of thought. Having said everything that I have up to this point, there is certainly some good material to be found and I can't pretend that I walked away having learned nothing... but life-changing stuff? Not for me. I suppose I'm still waiting for the revelation I initially hoped for when first picking up this book.

Overall, 2-stars for me but 4-stars for thinking of the numerous non-over-thinkers this book could possibly be enjoyable to. Final result? An average of 3-stars... unless, of course, you didn't automatically assume an averaging of the two, in which case your answer may have been 2, 6, or 8 stars! Care to figure out how I came up with those creative numbers? ;)

This book, together with my treasured Roger von Oech books, sit prominently on my bookshelf when working on a variety of problems - software development, film production, creative writing for scripts or novels, and developing opportunities in this mediacentric age. These books break open your mind from the restrictive fences imposed on our thinking by the conventional world that we are surrounded by. These fences need to be torn down. If you are an older person (probably older than 30!), then your thinking will become ossified. Just like using your muscles, you need to rework your brain and your thinking with effort to create opportunities and connections to emerging technologies and new developments.

This book is full of easy to use ideas that are designed to get quick results. You don't have to read the entire book or even an entire chapter to come away with many ideas that you and your group can implement easily. The author knows that often what is needed is a new way to look at an old situation. He offers many suggestions that will spark creativity. I found myself reading several sections and then adapting them on the fly for various meetings.

Length:: 0:47 Mins

A useful and insightful tool for anyone working with creative people or wanting to think more creatively.
Nigel Collin
[...]

Critical-thinking expert Michael Michalko has applied his talents to the service of the U.S. Army, the NATO military, and the CIA; now, he offers the updated second edition of Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, a jam-packed wealth of brain-twisting visual and verbal puzzles and exercises designed to stimulate new ways of solving problems and looking at situations. Exercises designed to stimulate logic and reason, intuition, brainstorming skills and much more are offered in accessible and adaptable terms, for self-study or use in a larger creative thinking workshop. Sure to captivate the reader with its thinking-out-of-the-box puzzles and even more important, advice for reexamining old problems with a fresh perspective, Thinkertoys is enthusiastically recommended for anyone striving to expand their creative mindset.

This is an awesome book to peruse. Very well done. It gives great tools that are lots of fun to work with. I found it a bit over-stimulating sometimes. My brain would not slow down if I worked with it to long. So I suggest it as a book to come back to periodically. One that can be used and enjoyed for many years.

I've always thought about writing a book about creativity that would make sense and encourage people to interpret their own experiences through their own eyes and not the eyes of others. This is the book I wish I had written. It has everything a book on creative thinking should have. I used the first edition in countless workshops with great success and am eagerly ready to start using some of the new brainstorming techniques in the second edition. The other book I highly recommend is Michael's "Cracking Creativity," which is, I think, the best book on creativity out there.

As a consultant, I am regularly engaged in combined sessions with clients. This book gives an excellent overview of the tools and techniques to use, but is more broad than deep. For me, it works fine. For someone who wants to do very specific creative activities, it doesn't give enough examples and practical application.

Michael Michalko's "Thinkertoys" is aimed at businesspeople who want to stretch their creative muscles and come up with new and better ideas. Writers who are used to very playful approaches in their creativity books might find some of the business-speak off-putting, but the exercises are as valid and useful for them as they are for businessfolk or anyone else looking for a creative solution to a problem.

What amazes me most about this book is the sheer volume of ideas, exercises, suggestions, and entertaining anecdotes. Certainly it stands as a testament to the validity of Michalko's work that he can come up with this many pages jam-packed full of idea-generating goodness.

Michalko believes we're best served by blending the linear and intuitive when stimulating creativity, so he provides a great many Thinkertoys in both the linear and intuitive sections of this book and suggests that we go back and forth in our use of them.

Each Thinkertoy comes with a basic explanation of how it works, a blueprint for applying it to a wide variety of issues, and examples showing it in use. Many of these examples are real-world historical items that can give you great insight into how to apply seemingly abstract techniques to very real problems. There are more than 15 linear toys, each one a complete blueprint for brainstorming everything you need to tackle a problem.

The intuitive section includes more than ten toys, ranging from relaxation techniques to analogies, hypnogogic imagery to psychosynthesis. These are the ones that might feel a bit funny to the dyed-in-the-wool businessperson, but they're well-formulated to walk you through the process and familiarize you with letting go.

The inclusion of both types of Thinkertoys is one of the things that makes this book truly stand out from others I've read. Most creativity books aimed at non-artistic types tend largely toward the linear exercises, while those aimed at artistic types tend largely toward the intuitive. It's very handy to have such a blend of both in one place, with tips on integrating them.

The book includes four chapters on brainstorming in a team-based approach, which is particularly useful in a business setting. These chapters include not only specific exercises, but also plenty of tips on getting folks to loosen up and produce their best work in these settings.

Finally, the book wraps up with some material to help you evaluate the ideas you've come up with.

I highly recommend reading the introductions to all of the major sections of the book, then skipping around to use various Thinkertoys as the mood suits you.

My only (very minor) quibble with the book was its occasional lack of clarity. Now and then Michalko off-handedly described something in a manner such that I really had no idea what he meant. Luckily this tended to occur in his examples, or in his instructions for viewing an optical illusion, not in the instructions for the actual Thinkertoys.

This is an incredibly handy book. The anecdotes are entertaining, the exercises are inspiring, and the wide variety will keep you busy for a very long time.