Think Better Quotes

“In his book How the Mind Works, the linguist Steven Pinker gives a wonderful example of this. Pinker tells a simple three-sentence story: “Janie heard the jingling of the ice cream truck. She ran upstairs to get her piggy bank. She shook it till some money came out.”2 By themselves these three sentences don’t tell you much. But because of your patterns, without consciously thinking about it, you construct a meaning for the story that makes sense. You probably have some idea of how old Janie is. It’s unlikely that you picture her as someone in her thirties; you probably assume she’s 9 or 10. It’s unlikely you think bills came out when she shook her piggy bank; you probably heard coins. And you certainly don’t assume that she wanted the money to invest in Enron. None of this meaning is contained in the original three sentences, but because of your patterns, you impose meaning—your meaning—on the story.”
― Tim Hurson, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

“Throughout the planning process you are constantly forced to reference the future you are imagining.”
― Tim Hurson, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

“The notion of emptying oneself is hardly new. It plays a central role in many religions. The Greeks have a word for it: kenosis, which literally means “self-emptying.”
― Tim Hurson, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

“Ironically, the urge to know may be one of the most challenging obstacles to productive thinking. People who “know” can tell you all the things that can’t be done and why. People who “know” don’t need to learn because they already have the answers. People who “know” are complete—or perhaps just finished. More often than not, people who “know” are also people who “no.” But knowingness is not the same as knowledge. Knowingness is sealed; nothing can get in. Knowledge is open. Knowingness sees challenge as threat. Knowledge sees challenge as opportunity.”
― Tim Hurson, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

“Why is the top row of your telephone keypad labeled 1 2 3, whereas the top row of your calculator is 7 8 9? Because both the telephone company and the calculator company say, “That’s the way we do things around here.” Take a look around your home or work environment. See if you can identify how many things you, your family, or your colleagues do in the basic reproductive thinking mode. This may be harder to do than you think. These fossilized reproductive patterns are so strong and seem so “right” that we usually don’t even notice that they are there. Here’s a quick test. I’ll bet that when you pop bread into your toaster, you always do so with the “bottom” of the bread down. Why? There is no real bottom of the bread. It doesn’t make any difference which edge of the bread is up or down when you toast it, but it just seems natural to put the bottom edge down. Why not toast your slice sideways? It might be easier to take out of the toaster when it’s done.”
― Tim Hurson, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking