MESSAGE FOR WEEK BEGINNING 25th October 2004

New Thinking

How do you know when 'new thinking' is needed? Is it possible that some new thinking is needed in the Northern Ireland situation? Is it possible that new thinking is required in the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir? Is it possible that new thinking is needed in the Isreal-Palestine situation? No matter how skillfully we may juggle with existing concepts, there may be a need for new concepts. It may be argued that any new concepts would not be acceptable. That might be so in practice but it is absurd to claim this in advance - that is like saying that flying machines are intrinsically impossible.

So how much effort do we make to design new ideas? I use the word 'design' and not 'seek out' very deliberately. New ideas are not there to be discovered. They have to be created. Skill in argument is not the best skill for creating new ideas.

Edward de Bono nmt
10th October 2004