Thinking Laterally

‘What is out of the common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance.’
‘A STUDY IN SCARLET’
In recent times the world has become filled with overpaid and self-appointed consultants extolling the virtues of ‘blue sky thinking’, ‘pushing the
envelope’ and ‘thinking outside the box’. For all its silliness, there is a valid point hidden amidst their jargon. Simply put, an ability to think laterally –
to look at a problem from many different angles rather than blundering into it head-on – can be a richly rewarding enterprise.



Holmes was an undeniable master of lateral thinking. Virtually every case written up by Dr Watson involves Holmes making a dextrous intellectual
leap that no-one else proves capable of. Your chances of matching Holmes in feats of lateral thinking are, quite frankly, minimal. You might as well
decide you can out-dribble Lionel Messi, talk about string theory more convincingly than Stephen Hawking, or wear something weirder than Lady
Gaga. Some talents are bestowed on just a few, and when it comes to lateral thinking, no one touches Holmes.
Yet that should not stop you from developing your skills in this direction as far as you possibly can. Here are a few quizzes to get the cogs
whirring.