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Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono

This was one of the most valuable books I read all year. It has certain problems (one of which is the author's inability to use a comma!), but this book will teach a patient reader anything and everything about how to think creatively. 

Some notes/reminders: 

* The mind as a self-maximizing memory system that grabs set patterns and is resistant to letting go of mentally acquired patterns and conceptions. 
* Sequence of arrival of information and how it locks in certain conceptual frameworks. 
* Logical/vertical thinking (where every step has to be judged/right), vs lateral thinking where you embrace being wrong on purpose, deliberate restructuring of inputs and information, etc. 
* Use of the made-up word "PO" as a conversational/cognitive trigger for lateral thinking, both linguistically and conceptually.

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