Thinking outside the box #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year:

Just where did that phrase come from and what does it mean?

From The Phrase Finder:

'Think outside the box' originated in the USA in the late 1960s/early 1970s. It has become something of a cliche, especially in the business world, where 'thinking outside the box' has become so hackneyed as to be rather meaningless.

And it means to

Think creatively, unimpeded by orthodox or conventional constraints.

The 'box', with its implication of rigidity and squareness, symbolizes constrained and unimaginative thinking.

 Apparently, this goes back to the 9 dots puzzle:

So, what's this box? It turns out that, rather than being metaphorical, the reference was to a specific box - in the form of a two-dimensional square. Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles, Tricks, and Conundrums (With Answers), 1914, included a puzzle, known as the 'Nine Dots Puzzle', which was posed like this:

"Draw a continuous line through the center of all the eggs so as to mark them off in the fewest number of strokes."

Loyd was a little sloppy with the puzzle's rules and ought to have added that the lines must be straight, although he did supply an illustration that makes the meaning clear.

The 60/70s management gurus who exhorted trainees to 'think outside the box' made their point by resurrecting the old 'Nine Dots Puzzle' as a test. Those of you who are familiar with the puzzle's solution will see why. If you haven't yet solved it for yourself, just click on the nine-dot image below.

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My favorite example of thinking outside the box is known as "The Barometer Problem". although according to Snopes it's a legend but a good example:

The story goes that a student in a physics class was asked how to find the height of a building using a barometer, The expected answer was to measure the air pressure at ground level and at the top of the building and to calculate the height because the pressure is different at different elevations. The student gave the answer that he would tie the barometer onto a sting, lower it to the ground and then measure the length of the string.

When told that this answer was incorrect, he complained that it did give the correct answer. But it didn't convey a knowledge of physics. The student was given another chance...this time his answer was to drop the barometer off the top of the building and time how long it took to hit the grand by using the formula h = 1/2gt² where h is the height, g is the acceleration of gravity (approximately 32 feet per second per second) and t is the time, in seconds, of the fall. If the barometer took 5 seconds to hit the ground, the building is 400 feet tall (h = 16 x 25).

The student said there were other possible answers...to use the barometer as a measuring stick and measure the height of the building while climbing the stairs. And my favorite...go to the landlord and say "I'll give you this barometer if you'll tell me how tall this building is"!

So, is it possible to learn how to think outside the box? Here are some ideas from Bottom-Line Performance:

• Make Small Changes to Your Routine
• Fill Your Mind with (Good) Media
• Schedule in Time for Thinking
• Unplug During the Work Day
• Build a Better Relationship With Your Boss

Although these deal specifically with work place creativity, most of these can be applied anywhere.

So, get those creative juices flowing and say goodbye to the box!

Interesting days

Today - Bring Your Bible to School Day, Improve Your Office Day, World Animal Day, Vodka Day, Ship in A Bottle Day and Taco Day

Tomorrow - Kids Music Day, Chic Spy™ Day, World Teachers Day, World Smile Day, Country Inn Bed & Breakfast Day and Balloons Around the World Day

Next Thursday - Coming Out Day, Sausage Pizza Day and World Sight Day

November 4 - Zero Tasking Day, Orphan Sunday and Use Your Common Sense Day