World Thinking Report 6

Some years ago at the UN in New York I tried to set up a group to generate additional ideas. There were several meetings and the Secretary General attended at least one of them. The project proved impossible because the representatives held that they were not there to think but to represent their countries. This is logical and understandable. If a representative came up with an idea that his or her country did not like then that person was not a true representative.

So there is no place in the world to put forward new ideas and new possibilities.

For that reason I am setting up a ‘Palace of Thinking’. This would have two functions.

The first function would be to receive and collect new ideas from anywhere. The best and most practical ones would be published and promoted. There would be no power to enforce such ideas but simple visibility might encourage people to ask why such ideas are not considered.

The second function would be organise creative sessions or task forces to apply lateral thinking to world problems and issues.

There is a need for an iconic building that would give seriousness to the idea. Such a building could continue its function as a museum or private residence. Meetings could be held elsewhere as necessary.

Any readers of this report could come up with a practical suggestion regarding the building. Such a building should probably not be in a major power country where it might be seen as reflecting the policy of that country. A small country such as Malta would be ideal. The location of the Palace would give that country a unique position in the world – the new idea country.

In time countries could be invited to send their thinkers to the Palace. They would come not as representatives but as contributing thinkers.

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Comment by Edward de Bono on July 18, 2011 at 17:00: That is something I have been thinking about as a possibility. Thank you Phil.

Comment by Phil Bachmann on June 2, 2011 at 12:04: Why does the palace have to be a real building? Adonis and Graeme here on the de Bono Society are always putting up splendid pictures that transport me to another place.

It seems to me that that computer generated images of a Thinking Palace could be published on a new website named ThinkingPalace.org and people could go there to marvel.

Yes it's true that a small country adopting this idea would work well but it depends on politicians spending money on something that's unproven and not directly in the interest of voters.

It's a shame in some ways that we live in an age where everything has to help people in a material and obvious way.

Comment by Franis on June 2, 2011 at 8:45: I can think of a couple of other common situations where thinking ability (and reason) is circumstantially cut off.

Parents tended to justify various courses of action on behalf of their children that made absolutely no difference to the child - in fact, the child was not consulted when they could have participated in addressing the questions that concerned them.

Anyone who is in a position of authority is in this situation. But sometimes, it is people who are caught in the middle who bear the brunt of conclusive objections from others. For instance, a waitress who must mitigate the actions of the kitchen to the customers, because it is their job to be the interface who is in the situation of receiving displeasure if things do not go right with the whole restaurant.

When people are representing others, they must be careful what they propose.

This social situation has a dark side too; some of the more heinous situations have come from those in authority being afraid or using what others might think - so their situation of protecting others are used to justify extreme solutions.

From your first story, it is a very interesting question to explore:
What social situations encourage people to be able to "design a way through?"