A Partial Summary of All Possible Techniques for Solving Problems
by Win Wenger, Ph.D.
<< CPS Techniques Index
Taxonomizing — A way to solve problems by brainstorming out every possible aspect of an issue, then sorting the results into an organized catalog which helps to make other information apparent. The example here was chosen because its topic is nothing less than the features of all possible ways to discover answers and solutions!!! This document both exemplifies “Taxonomizing” and maps out for you the features of hundreds of various methods of problem-solving now in professional use around the world.
(Adapted from the book, Discovering The Obvious)
The following summarizes the features to be found from among hundreds of the highly various methods now in professional use around the world for discovering solutions and answers to problems and questions.
This organized catalog of features is part of an effort to discover even better such methods. The reader is most cordially invited to join this discovery effort. Meanwhile, the world’s current one hundred best such actual Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) techniques, including their step-by-step instructions, are being collected and published free to the world, in this CPS Techniques section of the Project Renaissance website.
The method and system and theory of Project Renaissance began to evolve soon after this writer first came into the literature on creativity, in 1967, while he was still serving full-time as a college teacher. This writer’s one real contribution was his asking the proposition: If you have a good method for solving problems, one of that method’s best uses is on the problem of how to create better methods for solving problems. One of their best uses is on the problem of how to create even better such methods…..
Several years later, the development of visual thinking opened a major path into discovery of new methods for this writer: We re-opened this principle of re-investment of methods into better methods, to see if one could also “get there” from such methods as that of simple brainstorming (“brainstorming” as in the free instructions provided in the Gravel Gulch exhibit under CPS Techniques).
Indeed one could — and this gave rise to the method of “taxonomizing,” among other benefits. One by-product of that procedure, in turn, is this partial “taxonomy” of solution-finding methods.
With hundreds of methods now existing in the art and science of creativity and effective problem-solving, we may need a map to find our way. Creating a “taxonomy” can provide us some sense of order and relationship among such methods.
Advantages of a Taxonomy
Such advantages are essentially the same as those of the periodic table of the elements in chemistry and nuclear physics. The flora and fauna of geology and biology; the educational objectives of Benjamin Bloom; and our own taxonomies of methods for improving teaching and learning, and of ways to increase human intelligence, are a few other examples.
Grouping specific elements into more general categories is conceptually easier and cleaner than is entertaining the hundreds of specific elements separately. To do so brings into view regularities and patterns which in turn suggest potentially useful models and theories, accounting for the dynamics of the field.
Laying out the possibilities categorically, in some sort of order, whether in this present initial scheme or in some other, also generates predictions where further effective techniques may be found or invented, much as happened in the discovery of new elements in the chemical periodic table… (“There ought to be a rare metal right here, with XYZ atomic weight and such-and-such characteristics…..”)
Please note also the general principle that no categorical system is “right” or “wrong” (except for needing to be reasonably consistent), so much as it is more or less useful for the purposes to which you put it.
This present draft outline is an initial cut only. In no way is it to be regarded as a complete taxonomy. It greatly needs extensive criticizing, revision, testing, and a generation of alternate models for comparison. We hope this present draft does stimulate creation of alternate models, comparison of which will lead toward an eventual authoritative (or at least generally useful) taxonomy.
We offer this draft taxonomy here, among other purposes, to:
- underscore that many methods are available.
- underscore that, armed with a variety of such methods, you and almost anyone are probably more than a match for almost any problem or difficulty.
- underscore that even the resources taught in this book are but a drop in the bucket of what’s available.
All of the great minds of the past had hit on only one or a very few such methods as basis for their successes. You now have all these available to you, not just one or several. Many of the methods listed are self-evident from their descriptions, and so their inclusion here provides you with a wider working toolkit of methods.
Of course, not all methods are equally effective. Perhaps this listing may lead to the creation by some reader of a scoring system with which all such creative methods can begin to be systematically compared and evaluated.
Each category or sub-category below contains one or several specific techniques. Some categories and sub-categories each contain many diverse specific techniques. Some of the more successful techniques involve more than one category, as each category or sub-category also comprises strategies, with various possible tactics (specific techniques) with which to implement that strategy.
Sector One
Based on resources within the problem solver, and generally techniques through which to bring subtle perceptions conscious
A. Particular ways to solve particular problems — ways to extend or leverage perception and/or to see beyond the in-built, reflexive internal censor, “editor,” or inhibitive judgmental factor:
- Some of these particular methods are based upon speed. Go faster than judgment. Judgment plods, and can’t keep up with your running beyond judgment to see fresh perceptions in full view. Examples:
- “Brainstorming,” whose effectiveness is a function of how rapidly one can force a series of multiple responses within a context.
(Previously, “brainstorming’s” effectiveness was thought to be a matter of “suspending judgment.” However, the difficulty of truly suspending one’s own judgment, and the higher effectiveness of “brainstorming” with smaller groups where each participant is forced into a more rapid series of responses, demonstrate that speed is the main basis for effectiveness here.)
- Other rapid-flow expressive procedures, such as rapid-flow free-association techniques, rapid-flow methods for describing ongoing phenomena, “Improvitaping” in music (a technique given to you freely in Winsights No. 13 and “doodle build-up” in art; many other procedures which force a sustained rapid flow of expressive multiple responses.
- Forced fast-answer, fast response techniques a la flashcard or tachistoscope.
- “Brainstorming,” whose effectiveness is a function of how rapidly one can force a series of multiple responses within a context.
- Disengaging judgment (if not entirely suspending it as in parenthetical note under 1. above). Trust that good answers will emerge if one just keeps pumping away with responses without paying too much attention to judgment until afterward. Some other judgment-disengaging techniques have been practiced by creative geniuses throughout history, from long before there emerged the present deliberate art and science of creativity:
- “Sleep on it,” incubation, dreaming, various techniques for relaxing, for distracting, or displacing judgmental attention.
- Psychological techniques for changing values behind the judgmental process.
- Suspend bases for judging — take advantage of differing levels of sensitivity in brain and mind functions to “conceal questions” from the loud conscious, verbal-focused, judgmental mind until subtler responses have been read from the visualizing unconscious mind in answer, or from physiological responses of the body as monitored by EMG, polygraph, Whetstone Bridge, PSE, EEG, SGR or other biofeedback-type equipment.
- “Sleep on it,” incubation, dreaming, various techniques for relaxing, for distracting, or displacing judgmental attention.
- Transfer the terms of the problem to a non-judgmental medium. This usually means some form of work with analogy and/or in artistic self-expression.
- Einsteinian “mind-game,” as featured in Parnes’s Visionizing, in many of the Project Renaissance procedures, or — as in Synectics — to “make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.”
- Describe sensory or imagined sensory experience, usually rapid-flow (see 1. above), in a contextual “neutral zone warm-up” such as the garden in Over-the-Wall, while beyond a barrier of some sort rests the answer-space. Surprise! — at the contents of the answer space — is seen as indicator that fresh input has been discovered from beyond where we do our conscious thinking, judgmental censoring, and mulling-over of what we “know.” (See the complete Over-the-Wall script of instructions under CPS Techniques.
- Psychological (mainly Psychosynthesis, Psychegenics, and Borrowed Genius procedures from Project Renaissance) methods to externalize the seeming source of the information to beyond oneself, and thus from beyond the seat of the internal inhibitory judge. Van Oech’s use of roles or “hats” fits here and, in view of a parallel dynamic for accelerated learning in Suggestopedia, might well be expanded upon to greater effect.
- Einsteinian “mind-game,” as featured in Parnes’s Visionizing, in many of the Project Renaissance procedures, or — as in Synectics — to “make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.”
- Methods to force a way past the Censor:
- Random forced relationships for fresh perspective and generation of ideas, as in deBono’s Provocative Operation (P.O.) relating random dictionary words to the problem in search of possible solutions.
- By some form of formula process — stochastics, Edisonian “process of elimination,” “scientific method,” some elements of Synectics and of modern Osborn-Parnes method as per Creative Education Foundation, etc., quantification routines.
- By pursuing formula theory: prediction and testing (as per “scientific method,” above); inductive and deductive reasoning from formulas ranging from rigidly fixed ideas to various social and behavioral theories; physics and math. In this category we found it instructive in issues of social concern to introduce incentive theory as an analytic and solution-generating system, together with equilibrium theory and general systems theory (as per Win/Win-Finder in the CPS Techniques section. Long-lasting major societal problems are a complexly homeostatic, equilibrated system: Analyze the incentives acting upon those who affect or who could affect the problem; solve(?) the problem by modifying some of those incentives to redefine equilibrium.
- Categorizing and sorting — most effective if this is done rapidly and in various quickly recorded forms, to capture some of the same dynamics as brainstorming. Tony Buzan’s Mind-Mapping technique derived in part from systems analysis (which also serves as a way to force relationships to generate ideas — see 4.c. just above). This draft taxonomy itself is partially an example.
- Random forced relationships for fresh perspective and generation of ideas, as in deBono’s Provocative Operation (P.O.) relating random dictionary words to the problem in search of possible solutions.
B. Ways to generally nurture a high state of personal creativity:
- Especially important — exercise and build observational skills. The “serendipity” discussions in creativity-related literature are in substantial error. Everyone, sooner or later and often, is “in the right place at the right time,” but as Churchill observed. most walk away from it. Only those who practice observation and/or are observant, generally, will notice and make the discovery. The rest of us trudge numbly on and wonder why life passed us by.
- Nurture practices and environments associated with high creativity. These were categorized extensively by Dr. John Curtis Gowan (Trance, Art and Creativity, Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation, 1957). Bring such an environment with you by carrying around and constantly using notepad or pocket recorder. Create an aesthetically rewarding “special haven” to work in. Meditate or frequently resort to art.
- Reinforce creative and solution-finding behavior — in yourself; mutually among friends, associates or co-workers; in groups.
- Clean “noise” or disorder from internal “channels.” Blow them away in intense work-bursts, or drain them away by meditation, the arts, breathing methods, gardening, various other “incubation” techniques.
- Improve attitudes, especially self-esteem.
- Sustain or build physical health and stamina to see matters through to an implemented solution.
- Nurture practices and environments associated with high creativity. These were categorized extensively by Dr. John Curtis Gowan (Trance, Art and Creativity, Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation, 1957). Bring such an environment with you by carrying around and constantly using notepad or pocket recorder. Create an aesthetically rewarding “special haven” to work in. Meditate or frequently resort to art.
Sector Two
Obtaining solutions from resources external to the problem-solver
A. “Serendipity,” an elaborate word for “luck.” This factor is far slighter than the creativity literature suggests.
“Many men,” said Winston Churchill while language was still male-bound, “stumble over discoveries. Most of them pick themselves up and walk away.” In truth, everyone is often in the right place at the right time, but very few have practiced enough observation to notice it when it happens.
Fleming’s penicillin antibiotic response was apologetically shrugged off by at least 27 previous researchers in print (and Fleming himself got around to examining the odd effect only after 15 years, at the urging of a student who didn’t know any better!).
Reportedly, the breakthrough on discovering a plasma test for effects of Dioxin (Agent Orange) was made by similar “accident” at the Center for Communicable Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the research team, who liked to hunt, noticed how clean his bullets were. Investigating how, and why, led to a new method of hyper-cleaning the parts to a mass spectrometer, using ammunition casing brass and dried corn cobs. The extra cleanliness, in turn, enabled the mass spectrometer to operate far more sensitively, a discovery ranging far beyond the Dioxin project. (As reported by insiders to this writer, but not part of the personal first-hand knowledge and experience of this writer. We have not run down original published sources in this matter. Yet, the quality of the insiders’ reporting renders this secondary-sourced information somewhat better than apocryphal.)
Similarly, tens of thousands of researchers, teachers and students have had the same experience as did Dr. Michael Zaslov in his 1987 discovery of a new antibiotic at the National Institutes of Health, as reported by A.P. in most major newspapers. His case, too, was cited as “another instance of Serendipity.” But being observant was the critical variable here, not luck. Millions have partially dissected frogs, then returned them still living to their highly septic medium overnight, and gone on with them the next morning, and thought nothing of the fact that they were still alive and uninfected. Millions with that experience, and only one Michael Zaslov.
The most potent technique presently known for building powers of observation is the simple practice of Image Streaming, online at Project Renaissance and taught in the book, Discovering the Obvious.
B. External Expertise — Today this strategy is relatively overinvested, but can still often be useful, not least of all because the outsider has not yet learned all the places where s/he should not look, and moreover has not yet neuronally habituated on the matter in question. Thus, we (the “we” includes you) can often solve one another’s problems more easily than we can our own.
- “Library research” — data in the computer or on the Internet and in other records. Information explosion and the information revolution illustrate some of the pluses and minuses of this strategy for solution-finding. Note that it seems natural to try to solve a problem based upon what we know about it. But if the problem does not solve fairly readily by that means — and most don’t — what we know about it becomes the problem because that “knowledge” obscures our view of the fresh perceptions needed for that solution.
- Consultant experts — mostly overinvested, relative to other ways of finding solutions, but still productive at times.
- Charisma — “rally the troops” en masse to the task so that some of them, at least, will manage to solve the problem(s).
- Train more people to be effective problem-solvers — the avowed purpose of our own programs and publications.
C. External Power, external leverage — The effectiveness of this category of techniques can be argued but is uneven. Strong cases have on occasion been made for each of the various following approaches:
- Call on The Boss to do it.
- Call on the Godfather to do it.
- Magic — some way to manipulate the territory from the map, however necessarily the one differs from the other.
- Call on God to do it — some way to manipulate the Owner of the territory, commonly called “the power of prayer,” but “prayer” in the sense of telling God what to do instead of “prayer” in the sense of listening (which form we think is far more powerful).
- Depend upon Luck, the passage of time, or for the problem to somehow solve itself.
Sector Three
Reinvestment in creating better methods
Though discussed briefly at the start of this draft taxonomy, Sector Three deserves to be a major division of problem-solving methods despite its usually being ignored.
Reinvest whatever are your best methods for solving problems into the problem of how to create new and better problem-solving methods! Pursuit of this principle of reinvestment can build and has built phenomenal methodological capital over time.
Extending this “Sector Three” into a concluding comment:
Traditionally, each main school or proponent of creative problem-solving, developed (or borrowed!) one or a few good techniques and practices, and offered these as “The Way” to effectively solve problems.
Any of the existing schools, systems, and/or other corporate or embodied proponents of particular ways could evolve and proliferate new generations of methods fully a match with those of Project Renaissance. Sid Parnes’ Visionizing is an example of an excellent start on this road by the world’s best recognized name in creativity. Any such program, if imbued with a glimmer of curiosity and scientific attitude, can and should begin following this same simple principle of re-investment.
We are in a world where problems are accumulating far more rapidly than solutions, to the point that our main institutions are staggering and threatening to collapse under the burden. We therefore strongly urge more programs to begin applying this principle of re-investing methods into better methods, building effective problem-solving into an even better science than it has recently become. — And ways to make it more accessible to general public use, as we are doing with this exhibit we are now creating, of one hundred of the world’s best current techniques for discovering answers and solutions, free to anyone and everyone on the planet who can get to the Web….
One way you can start yourself to re-investing your current best methods into creating better such methods, if brainstorming is the method you are most familiar with and comfortable with, is to start brainstorming out, sorting out, and taxonomizing everything that you know about creativity and answer-finding. You may have a lot more of this than you yet realize.
This is a great point for you to do some Freenoting …. or simply Freenote on everything that comes to mind for you in a 10- to 20-minute “brainstorm” intensive on everything about effective/creative ways to solve problems and discover answers. As it occurs to you, write it regardless of whether or not it at first seems to fit or make sense…..
Another way you can be doing this is to keep hopping over the garden wall as in Over-the-Wall (free online) or riding the elevator up (as in Beachhead or in Toolbuilder) to where our future or some advanced civilizations have already come up with far better methods, including surprising new principles on creativity. All you need to do is copy what you observe there and re-create these back here as your invention…… (Toolbuilder is where most of our present methods in Project Renaissance come from.)
Hey — the whole universe is yours to draw upon. The resources available to your mind truly appear to be without limit. Having read this far, how can you not put at least some of all this to legitimate test? And having tested these matters and found something of what truly is at stake, how can any living human being not go forward with this, without apparent limits? — And look at all that wonderful scenery you get to take in along the way!!!
Indeed, we concur in yet one more regard with Dr. Jean Houston, who in her recent lectures has been saying that “for the uses we put our remarkably developed brain to, we are obscenely over-endowed!” You, for instance, have brains enough to run a galaxy. Up until now or recently, what have you been doing with them?