Think Different, Lee

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Think Different, Lee

June 29, 2011. By Peter Lloyd

I call these essays Right Brain Workouts because they’re meant to strengthen your brain. They do this, I hope, by challenging you to think differently, to consider off-the-wall ideas, and to keep and open mind while I gamble with ideas. There’s madness to this method. Some folks with credentials bigger than mine (that is, they actually have some and have researched this question) have concluded that stimulating your brain is good for it. But you knew that. More to my point, they suggest that stimulation means thinking differently, not just thinking.

While there’s no harm solving crossword puzzles, if you favor word work over number crunching, doing so rises to the level of brain maintenance. Forcing yourself to do ken ken or sudoku instead amounts to brain gain. As one who favors words over numbers, I can vouch for this. Lately, by pushing myself through number puzzles, I’ve gained proficiency with them. That’s got to mean my brain has gained from the pain.

It’s easy to accept the idea that it’s good for your brain to learn a new language, play a new musical instrument, or pick up a new hobby. But it can’t hurt your brain to whimsically break out of your routine. To click your mouse or brush your teeth with your other hand. parody of apple ad

To read an editorial from the other side. To look into a heretical philosophy or position. We all admire open mindedness in others and like to think we are open-minded, but one can’t claim that virtue. It doesn’t mean a thing until someone dubs you open-minded, unsolicited.

Keeping an open mind does not mean letting it become a mental dumpster. As a very irreverent parody of the 1997 Think Different campaign slogan illustrated, thinking differently can include stupidity and introduce danger.

With that caveat in mind, let’s revisit that landmark commercial message. It’s more than a decade old. Who would you add? Remove? How would you do it differently?

See also:

Study Demonstrates How We Support Our False Beliefs
Is Tetris Good For The Brain?
Patriotic Music May Close Minds, Children’s Music May Open Them
Eight ways to boost your creativity by Alison Motluk, New Scientist
Five Ways to Strengthen Your Brain by Leslie Garcia, PhysOrg
The Wright Stuff

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen R. Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.

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