…yes, similar to the idea behind my most recent book title.
One approach to creative thinking is through reversing the order of something. With brains searching for order and patterns, the other-way-around idea mixes things up in ways that can lead to previously undiscovered insights.
Who said dessert had to come last? (Reverse the order and eat it first.)
Who said car engines had to be in the front of a car? (Think of the Porsche 911.)
Ever see a caboose leading a train? (I saw this last Fall…a rather confusing sight at first.)
A few recent news items captured the notion of reversal in creative ways.
First, who said that medical care had to be done in a hospital? According to an NPR report, an increasing number of hospitals are bringing treatments to people in their homes. This reversal of the traditional process not only frees up beds for patients needing in-hospital care, but, according to David Levine, MD, of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, this reversal approach leads to better health outcomes for those cared for in their home. One patient treated in her home described it as “the best thing that’s happened since running water.”
Second, who said that pastors were confined to a church? A New York Times story described a reversal where pastors didn’t just leave their place of worship and preach on street corners, for instance. Rather they sermonized on boats as they made journeys between cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The reporters summarized, “It’s on the river that many pastors go fishing for souls,” as many people rely on the boats to travel from one town to another. One pastor offers services each morning and evening on board, remarking, “I work everywhere.”
Finally, who said that scamming was a one-way process? A 73-year-old grandmother on Long Island reversed the process in an imaginative way, making the scammer come to her. In a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson and in need of $8000 for bail, the woman asked the would-be swindler to come to her house for the money. After all, she was fully aware of the scam: She had no grandsons old enough to drive. The “grandchild” arrived at a predetermined time, and with police assistance, was apprehended. “I feel like—Gotcha!” the creative grandmother said in the Washington Post story.
The reverse gear…sometimes it sparks an acceleration in creative thinking.