Vertical Thinking:
Vertical thinking can be thought of as a sequence of direct & logical steps that are used to come a conclusion.
Lateral Thinking:
It is about using an indirect & creative approach to come a conclusion.
Difference:
One example that can help easily contrast the major difference between vertical & lateral thinking goes like this.
- Pretend that some needs to get a treasure chest buried deep underground.
- A person using vertical thinking will dig a hole & keep digging that same hole deeper untill they (hopefully) get to the treasure chest.
- A person with lateral thinking may dig a hole for a while & realize it may not the best spot to dig,so why not try digging a hole somewhere else instead .
Conclusion:
Just from this example, one can see that vertical thinking is a rigid way of thinking. It’s about sticking to approach you have taken from the beginning & excluding any other approach. Lateral thinking is flexible. It’s all about thinking about a problem from different angles, if they’re a bit controversial & generating new approaches to same old thing.
Vertical Thinking VS Horizontal Thinking:
Vertical thinking:
- Classical
- Selective
- Steps continue one after another
- Analytical
- Sequential
- May use negation
- Logical
- Use categories & classifications
- Follows the most likely paths, the most probable direction
- Finite process with conclusion
Horizontal thinking:
- Unconventional
- Creative, generative
- Seeks new ways
- Provocative
- Can make jumps
- Breaks all bans
- Illogical
- Distributing elements are welcome explores the least likely
- Prefers the most improbable way
- Original ideas
- Never ending process
- Probabilistic
