Edward de Bono - Ideas Quotes

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The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.

Edward de Bono
Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea.

Edward de Bono
Some people are aware of another sort of thinking which…leads to those simple ideas that are obvious only after they have been thought of…the term 'lateral thinking' has been coined to describe this other sort of thinking; 'vertical thinking' is used to denote the conventional logical process.

Edward de Bono
Creative thinking — in terms of idea creativity — is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured. You can never tell how a policy has been reached just by looking at the end result. Some people who have achieved a huge amount do not come across as impressive when you speak to them.

Edward de Bono
(...) being right all the time acquires a huge importance in education, and there is this terror of being wrong. The ego is so tied to being right that later on in life you are reluctant to accept that you are ever wrong, because you are defending not the idea but your self-esteem. (...) this terror of being wrong means that people have enormous difficulties in changing ideas.

Edward de Bono
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

Edward de Bono
An idea is far more fertile if seduced rather than raped.

Edward de Bono
Pouncing on an idea as soon as it appears kills the idea. Too early and too enthusiastic logical attention either freezes the idea or forces it into the old moulds. Concentration on an idea isolates it from its surroundings and arrests its growth. The glare of attention inhibits the fertile semi-conscious processes that go to develop an idea.

Edward de Bono
Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight. If it were not, we would never be able to see its value.

Edward de Bono