Random Trip: Day Four
Thinking Outside the Box

For the ump-teenth time on this trip, I've been told by people I've met that I "Think outside the box". They mean it as a compliment, and I appreciate that. I really do. But I hate this term. Really, really hate it. It's a phrase people use when they believe that they can't do it themselves.

Dictionary (ok, ok, Wikipedia) definition:
"Thinking outside the box" is a cliché or catchphrase used to refer to looking at a problem from a new perspective without preconceptions, sometimes called a process of lateral thought.
First of all, I find it hypocritical that it is used ad-nauseum in business, school, government, and in all sorts of similar environments. Environments where thinking in such a manner is not only discouraged, but often punished.
Let us take a hypothetical example.

A young 6 year old student had a math test, and when asked the question "What's two plus two?" answered "Three plus one."

Think about it, now. That child would obviously be displaying a knowledge of the subject far beyond what was taught. The child is not only be able to do the memorization, or make the internal picture (imagined fingers on a hand) required to solve the problem, but is also able to do it forward and in reverse, all while displaying unbridled creativity. That child would be thinking "Outside the box".

Now outside of hypotheticals, and into our experiences. Think back to the math teachers you had when you were that age. Do you think they would have used the green pen or the red pen on that question? Now that you've thought about it, is it really *that* surprising that Albert Einstein failed Grade 5 math?
But the real reason that I don't like the term is because of its presuppositions. A presupposition is something that someone supposes is true, even though it isn't part of the problem.

Get out of your chair for a second.

Now touch your toes. Can you do it?

The majority of people will either:

a) bend at the hip, keeping their legs straight, and have a lot of trouble with it, unless you're some kind of gymnast or yoga expert.
b) say "I can't do that, I'm not that flexible."
instead of option c) Bending their knees, or even sitting down on the floor, and touching their toes.

But wait! You didn't say I could bend my knees!
I didn't say you couldn't. Assuming that was a presupposition. And it was a natural presupposition for the phrase "Touch your toes". What you naturally think of is probably gym class, or a yoga class, or something of that nature, where that rule was a reality. If I had said "Pull your knees into your chest and touch your toes", everyone would do it quickly and easily.

Now you see how we phrase things and picture things inside our own heads really does shape how we live our lives. The words we choose to use show how we view the world.

Now, think about the term "Thinking Outside the Box" presupposes. What are boxes for? To put things *in*. Things that go in boxes tend to spend most of their time there. Papers, old clothes, tapes, DVDs etc. The term "Thinking Outside the Box" presupposes that this kind of thinking is unusual, as if most thinking is supposed to be "in the box". It presupposes that creative thought should be rare or difficult.

Now shake that image our of your head, like you would do to an Etch-o-Sketch. Put this in your mind, now. Imagine that you were driving along on a multi-lane highway. You're in the middle lane. As you are driving along, you see a large tire laying in your lane, up in the distance.

What do you do?

a) Would you pull up to a stop in front of the tire, turn on your hazard lights, and say "There's something in my way. I can't go where I want, now. There's nothing I can do."

b) Change lanes and blow right past it. Quickly, easily, unconsciously.

That mental image likely set you up with the pre-supposition to choose option B. The presuppositions we make can be helpful, just as easily as they can be harmful, it just depends on which ones you choose to use.

If you see creative thought as something that is rare and difficult, it will be. If you see problems in your life as things that can easily and unconsciously be maneuvered around, that's pretty much exactly what will happen. It won't be a big deal. You'll find that some problems used to fluster you and stop you in your tracks. Now, you may not even notice them, because you moved past them so quickly. And then the biggest problem of your day is how annoyed you get when everyone tells you that you "Think Outside the Box".


And that's a pretty good problem to have.
Home | Blog Index