Can you think outside the box?
Lateral thinking puzzles can't be solved with calculations — only with a fresh way of looking at the situation. Six puzzles, from easy to hard. Question every assumption!
Did you know?
- Edward de Bono wrote more than 80 books on thinking, including the influential 'Six Thinking Hats', which describes six different modes of thinking that groups can use in turn during discussions.
- Some lateral thinking puzzles are called 'situation puzzles'. Players ask only yes-or-no questions to uncover a strange story, and some puzzles can take groups an hour or more to solve.
- Research on creativity suggests that taking a break can help solve difficult puzzles. Stepping away allows the mind to let go of unhelpful assumptions, which is why solutions sometimes appear in the shower or on a walk.
The art of lateral thinking
Lateral thinking means solving problems by looking at them from unexpected angles instead of following the obvious step-by-step route. The term was introduced by Maltese doctor and writer Edward de Bono in 1967. Lateral thinking puzzles train you to notice the hidden assumptions that make a problem seem impossible.
Spot the hidden assumption
Most lateral puzzles work because we fill gaps with assumptions. In the fishing puzzle, we assume 'two mothers and two daughters' means four people. In the cowboy puzzle, we assume 'Friday' is a day. Asking 'what am I assuming?' is the key question for solving these puzzles and many real problems.
Look at words carefully
Some lateral puzzles depend on reading words literally. 'Eight days without sleep' is true for anyone who sleeps at night. Lawyers, programmers and scientists all benefit from this skill, because a single word can change the meaning of a contract, a line of code or an experimental result.
Change your point of view
The lift puzzle becomes easy when you stop thinking about the building and start thinking about the man. Changing perspective — imagining the situation from a different person's viewpoint or reversing the problem — often reveals solutions that direct analysis misses.
Lateral thinking at work
Companies use lateral thinking techniques to create new products and solve design problems. Methods such as deliberately challenging rules, combining unrelated ideas or asking 'what if the opposite were true?' help teams escape familiar patterns. Many inventions began with someone questioning an assumption everyone else accepted.
Playing in groups
Lateral thinking puzzles are great group games. One person knows the answer and others ask yes-or-no questions until they solve it. This format, popular at parties and in classrooms, trains careful questioning, listening and teamwork, and it shows how different people approach the same mystery.