الوضع الليلي
0
How to Stimulate Creative Thinking via Comparisons
5:29:42 2024-08-26 2158

You may recall lessons in elementary school in which you were asked to note the differences between two items. For example, what is the difference between a horse and a car? Or, which one of the following doesn’t belong: triangle/square/surface/oval? A lot of our early education was focused on the differences between certain facts. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that when we look for differences, the focus is typically on logical thinking. On the other hand, when we look for similarities, the focus shifts to creative thinking.

Here's an example: What are the similarities between a brick and a rubber band? At first glance, that seems to be an impossible task. “There’s nothing similar between those two items,” you might exclaim. But, dig a little deeper and you will begin to see possibilities. Here are a few similarities for your consideration:

  • Both are made from organic materials.
  • Both have right angles.
  • Both can be used to hold things down.
  • Both are inexpensive.
  • Both can be obtained in a hardware store.
  • Both need the letter “b” to make sense.
  • Both come in a variety of colors.

By looking for connections between two very dissimilar objects, you are exercising your creative potential. Instead of looking for the obvious (as you were asked to do in school), with this re-framing you are looking for the less obvious, the less certain, and the less recognizable. This is creativity at its finest.

Try some of the following exercises. What are three similarities between:

  1. An apple and a bulldozer.
  2. A slipper and a pencil.
  3. A window pane and a shovel.
  4. An oak tree and a fan.
  5. A computer keyboard and a rice patty.
  6. A driveway and a lighthouse.
  7. A piece of coal and an email.
  8. A stapler and a motorcycle.
  9. A billboard and a diamond ring.
  10. A fire hydrant and grilled cheese sandwich.

 

Foresight   2026-03-24
Reality Of Islam

The Lessons of Failure

11:32:38   2026-06-09  

The Principles of Life

11:18:22   2026-06-07  

The Importance of Self Discipline

7:33:48   2026-06-04  

The Means of Perfection

10:58:4   2026-06-02  

A Mathematical Approach to the Quran

10:52:33   2024-02-16  

mediation

2:36:46   2023-06-04  

what Allah hates the most

5:1:47   2023-06-01  

allahs fort

11:41:7   2023-05-30  

striving for success

2:35:47   2023-06-04  

Imam Ali Describes the Holy Quran

5:0:38   2023-06-01  

livelihood

11:40:13   2023-05-30  

silence about wisdom

3:36:19   2023-05-29  

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

good people

11:34:48   2022-06-29

be yourself.

8:30:23   2022-03-03

smiling

1:38:41   2021-12-08

never answer to your lusts

7:0:55   2022-05-17

your actions

2:5:14   2023-01-28

life temptations

10:35:40   2022-05-26



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST Secondhand smoke puts children at risk for meningitis The Lessons of Failure Interpretation of Sura al-Nur - Verse 62 scientists Finally Uncover How a Forever Chemical Causes Birth Defects NASAs X-59 Sonic Boom Killer Is Ready for Its Biggest Test Yet The World Praised This Wolverine Program. Then Everything Changed Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes in Children The Principles of Life Interpretation of Sura al-Nur - Verse 61 Constantly Tired? Scientists Say These Vitamin Deficiencies May Be Why Mass Spectrometry Breakthrough Detects Billions of Molecules at Once NASA Captures Typhoon Jangmi Massive Eye in Stunning Nighttime Image