What If.....? An exercise in Creativity and What Iff'ing

What if we could see smells? You'd know the source of the bad smell in the kitchen--a plant, rubbish bin, wastebasket, old food in the refrigerator. You could see the perfume as it wafted off the girl wearing it--a visible "come on." Since we can see farther than we can smell, you could see who had an orange or banana in his lunch bag from across the room. Visible odors could be socially embarrassing in ways not necessary to detail.

Whether or not the "seeing smells" thought suggests the invention of an smell detecting device, a super sniffer like the ones used by the U.S. military to sniff out enemy soldiers, a main benefit of practicing what-iffing is to train the mind to explore unreality or imagined reality, to think about, for a few minutes, the necessary, logical consequences or facts needed to support such a change in real things. Too often when someone gets a new idea, little attempt is made to think about its logical consequences for a few minutes.

Notice when you mention a "what if" to your friends, their reaction will probably be to laugh and change the subject, or to laugh and suggest one funny consequence. There is little attempt to trace probable consequences thoroughly, to outline a full set of associated realities. By not doing so, we are in danger of cutting off many new ideas.

Try It Yourself

What If.

Choose one of the questions below and then trace the reasonable and logical consequences that would follow. You might be sure to think of both good and bad (and perhaps indifferent) consequences. List or describe (in a sentence or two each) at least ten consequences.
What if anyone could set up as a doctor?
What if each home could run the television only one hour a day?
What if petrol grew on trees and was a renewable resource?
What if exams were abolished in college?
What if our pets could talk?
What if we never had to sleep?
What if we could read other people's minds (and they could read ours)?
What if all marriages were automatically cancelled by the state every three years?
What if everybody looked almost exactly alike?
What if clocks and watches didn't exist and daylight lasted six months?

Be more creative, USES FOR A...

This is a simple technique that can be used for mental stimulation or practical application, depending on what you have in mind at the time. It is an excellent tool for breaking you out of a functionally fixated mindset. To use this technique, think of an item or object, usually a common one like a brick, toothpick, pencil, or bucket, and set the task of thinking of all the possible uses for that object, without regard to what the object is normally used for, what it is named, or how it is usually thought of.
Sometimes a time limit, like three to five minutes, is given. Other times a quantity limit, like 25 to 100 is given. All the techniques of idea generation are used, from checklist to attribute analysis to random stimulation.

Try It Yourself

Uses For.
Choose one of the items below and think of at least 25 original uses for it. (That is, you cannot list things that the item is already used for.) The uses can be fanciful, but should at least approach practicality. Describe each use in a sentence or two.

a cardboard box
a towel
a nail
a sheet of paper
a spoon
a fan
a roll of adding machine paper
a ball point pen
the yellow pages
an inner tube
a candle
three feet of Scotch tape
a plastic drinking glass
a toothpick
a marble
old newspapers
worn out automobile tyres
non-returnable soda bottles
tons of broken rubber bands
pencils

Creative Lighting...

Sculpter, Raphael Daden, was chosen to develop this lighting along the seafront at Brighton. Stunning.



Pedestrians interact with light-projected portraits from a video art installation in Trafalgar Square, London. Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's piece Under Scan features 1,000 interactive portraits of British people.

Wake up and Live - 12 Mental Exercises...

I came across this book which Dorothea Brande wrote in 1936 (which incidentally was made into a musical by Twentieth Century Fox). Here's what the New Yorker said about it at the time... "Now Mrs. Dorothea Brande has written a book and Simon & Schuster have published it, with the firm purpose in mind of getting me and all the other woolgatherers mentally organized so that, in a world which is going to pieces, we can be right up on our toes. I have no doubt that the book, which is called "Wake Up And Live!" will sell some two hundred thousand copies..."

In fact it sold 2 million copies...Inside are these twelve mental exercises, some of them are interesting to try out...

1. Spend an hour each day without saying anything except in answer to direct questions, in the midst of the usual group, without creating the impression that you’re sulking or ill. Be as ordinary as possible. But do not volunteer remarks or try to draw out information.

2. Think for 30 minutes a day about one subject exclusively. Start with five minutes.

3. Write a letter without using the words I, me, mine, my.

4. Talk for 15 minutes a day without using I, me, my, mine.

5. Write a letter in a “successful” or placid tone. No misstatements, no lying. Look for aspects or activities that can be honestly reported that way.

6. Pause on the threshold of any crowded room and size it up.

7. Keep a new acquaintance talking about himself or herself without allowing him to become conscious of it. Turn back any courteous reciprocal questions in a way that your auditor doesn’t feel rebuffed.

8. Talk exclusively about yourself and your interests without complaining, boasting, or boring your companions.

9. Cut “I mean” or “As a matter of fact” or any other verbal mannerism out of your conversation.

10. Plan two hours of a day and stick to the plan.

11. Set yourself twelve tasks at random: e.g., go twenty miles from home using ordinary conveyance; go 12 hours without food; go eat a meal in the unlikelist place you can find; say nothing all day except in answer to questions; stay up all night and work.

12. From time to time, give yourself a day when you answer “yes” to any reasonable request.

Interesting...

6 word memoirs - which is your favourite?

This one really is relevant for me!
The Guardian has been running this competition to see who's six word memoir has the most resonance...which is your favourite? Here's the shortlist of the final 7 Take a look here You can find all of them here.