Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

by Michael Michalko

THE PLAN Can you solve the whole problem? Part of the problem? What would you like the resolution to be? Can you picture it? How much of the unknown can you determine? Can you derive something useful from the information you have? Have you used all the information? Have you taken into account all essential notions in the problem? Can you separate the steps in the problem-solving process? Can you determine the correctness of each step? What creative-thinking techniques can you use to generate ideas? How many different techniques? Can you see the result? How many different kinds of results can you see? How many different ways have you tried to solve the problem? What have others done? Can you intuit the solution? Can you check the result? What should be done? How should it be done? Where should it be done? When should it be done? Who should do it? What do you need to do at this time? Who will be responsible for what? Can you use this problem to solve some other problem? What is the unique set of qualities that makes this problem what it is and none other? What milestones can best mark your progress? How will you know when you are successful?