Einstein + The Matrix = Impactful Innovation

In 1999 The Matrix made its debut. As a teenager in the cinema chair, with a grin on my face and popcorn in my excited fists, this movie took my innovative thinking to the next level. A level most people even today haven’t realized they can attain. Let’s explore that level now.

Albert Einstein famously said:

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

What did Einstein mean by that?

He meant that when we identify a problem, we are trapped by the thinking that identified the problem. Hence, to solve the problem we need to escape from that mind prison. Basically:

Thinking different

So, let’s look at how powerful our innovative thinking becomes when we do just that.

We start in Sweden, one of the most innovative countries in the World. The Northern part of Europe I grew up and still live in.

When solving a complex problem in this blue and yellow country, my classmates, colleagues, and friends would always say:

Think outside the box

This idea was originated by American psychologist Joy Paul Guilford in the 1970s. He was one of the first academic researchers ever to conduct a study of creativity.

His most famous study was the 9-dot-puzzle.

The 9-dot-puzzle is about connecting all 9 dots in a square using only 4 straight lines — without lifting the pencil from the page.

At first, all participants in the study tried finding solutions within the imaginary 9-dot-box.

No one saw the space beyond this box.

If you have solved this puzzle, you know that it requires drawing lines that extend beyond the dotted area.

Only 1 out of 5 participants finally managed to solve the puzzle.

So, 4 out of 5 people were still blinded by the imaginary 9-dot-box.

The conclusion of the study was that creativity requires us to think outside the box.

This idea spread like wildfire and has been popular ever since. Even today, half a century later, this idea is still considered a starting point when solving complex problems.

But… why is that bad?

Because even if escaping the mind box prison, we’re still trapped by the idea of its existence.

I first realized this watching The Matrix in 1999:

Boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Boy: There is no spoon.

What struck my heart deeply about this scene was Neo’s evolution to thinking that anything is possible — imagination.

As Einstein said:

Thinking will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

I used to think outside the box, but now I have realized that there is no box — except for the box I create myself.

This have enabled me to start reimagining how to solve my problems.

Let’s reimagine together.

Consider, for example, that three people are in a car with a mission to go from Berlin, Germany to Paris, France.

What’s the fastest way to get to the French capital?

Most bring out a map and look for the best roads. Others take it a step further, weighing in factors such as traffic, time of day and rest stops. Some might even develop a plan to rotate drivers so they can reduce stops and drive all night.

All good ideas. But the starting point — the fact that they’re in a car — traps their thinking. Because, most likely, the fastest way to get to Paris is to drive to the airport and get on a plane. The car is their mind box prison.

Whether we realize it or not, we all have mind box prisons. Here are three examples:

1. We might have been taught what is — and isn’t — possible.
2. We could have learned that there are risks and consequences for trying something new.
3. Chances are, that as kids, we were taught to color inside the lines. But if our own imagination would run the show, we might have happily colored the entire page instead — or even outside it.

Let’s reimagine again.

Consider climate change and how we might reduce the emission of combustion cars.

If we use inside-the-box-thinking, we might just create a more fuel-efficient combustion car.

If we instead use outside-the-box-thinking, we slightly expand our innovation space.

1. So, instead of a combustion car we might create an electrical car. Putting it into an ecosystem of wind and solar to power it.
2. We might reengineer our roads to reduce the needs of batteries and let the cars be powered from the ground by induced electricity.
3. We might possibly even start considering Mobility-as-a-Service, to enhance the efficiency of cars all together.

But, if we use no-box-thinking, we expand our imagination and innovation space infinitely.

Here, the car — the box — is not even considered.

1. We might start considering compact, complete, and connected cities, to reduce the need of a car and use other ways of transport to satisfy the need for mobility.
2. We might even start considering tele-commuting/education/health, online shopping/banking, and virtual entertainment, to reduce the need for mobility and satisfy the core need of access.

We move from limiting our room to innovate, inside the box, to expanding our innovation space infinitely by eliminating the box altogether.

So, how do you develop your skill of no-box-thinking — reimagination — especially if you’re used to thinking inside or outside the box?

Free your mind.

How?

Let’s leverage the promised next level of innovative thinking — The Innovation Tree:

1. Identify the CORE NEED of your problem. Ask: What is the deepest layer of needs I’m looking at — the core need?
2. Expand your INNOVATION SPACE infinitely. Ask: What if my innovative thinking blended infinitely like a star in the universe?
3. Connect the CORE NEED to the INNOVATION SPACE and REIMAGINE the solution to your problem completely. How? I’ll leave that bit of fun to you.

Ready to take the red pill?

Reimagine. Think different. There is no box.

See you in the next story.

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