ABSTRACT
The chapter presents a variety of additional mechanisms suggested by various writers with the main ideas expressed of Edward de Bono about lateral thinking. Lateral thinking can be categorised under the headings of awareness, alternatives and provocative methods. The chapter considers each of these aspects in turn. Lateral thinking does advocate some ideation methods, and these come under the heading of provocative techniques. They include random stimulus, intermediate impossible, reversals, distortion and exaggeration, exposure, cross-fertilisation, problem switching, and the use of the termpo. De Bono suggests the technique of the intermediate impossible as a mechanism that can help reader to go beyond the boundaries of a problem. They involve challenging assumptions, looking for analogous situations and trying to apply ideas that seem to have worked in one situation or another. Metaphors and similes can assist in the process. The use of metaphors and analogies are more likely to appeal to divergent thinkers and may even occasionally lead to paradigm-breaking discoveries.
