Critical thinking in 3 pictures
Creativity and UNlearning
One of my favorite assignments is called, "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow."
The idea is to tell a story in three pictures, but not to tell me something I already know.
For instance, don’t tell me:
Yesterday I had long hair.
Today I cut my hair.
Tomorrow I will have long hair.
We know that story, or we expect that story.
The same thing with:
Yesterday we fought wars with sticks and stones.
Today we fight with nukes.
Tomorrow we will fight with sticks and stones.
Again, expected. A known and rehearsed conclusion.
Tell me something interesting, tell me something I don’t know, something surprising.
"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" could be the history of the world or it could be what happens in three moments.
My favorite example is the one pictured. Yesterday there was a sapling. Today, it's a tree. How do we solve for tomorrow? What happens to the tree?
There are many solutions: things made out of wood, a house, reams of paper, 1 million toothpicks...? Is it "The Giving Tree"?
All of these are logical, make sense and fit the bill, but are they interesting?
There is one answer that creates that "AH-ha!" moment that we all love... that we all want in our work.
There is one answer that is emotional, has actual meaning and tells a bigger story.
I’ll share that answer with you tomorrow.
...
For more of this work and to supercharge your creativity and critical thinking, join me and a small group in my class, "Design UNthinking.
Class Starts May 13!
Space is VERY limited, so you get the ultimate attention!