A Whack on the Side of the Head

Warner Books, 1983

15 min read

10 take-aways

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What's inside?

Burst that brain lock with a solid whack upside your head! Stimulate your creativity by playing, thinking impractically and generally acting the fool.

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Editorial Rating

Recommendation

A Whack on the Side of the Head is a book that deserves some time. If you rush this book, you will miss much of its value. Roger von Oech uses a combination of explanation, puzzles, and irreverent artwork in his treatise on creative thinking. People who consider themselves creative will instantly take to this book. People who don’t feel they are creative may be a little intimidated by the format of the book, but if they can buckle down and force themselves to give it a chance, they stand to gain the most from the book. Reading this book can help you reawaken the imaginative thinking process most people abandoned in their childhood. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who wants to be more creative; it will be as useful for a high school student as it is for an advertising executive or a software programmer.

Summary

Ten Mental Locks

In order to think creatively you must have an attitude that lets you search for ideas and play with your experience and knowledge. Crazy, foolish and impractical ideas are your stepping-stones to practical ideas. Sometimes you need to break the rules and look for ideas in unusual places.

People are not taught to be creative. The standard educational system is essentially an elaborate game of "guess what the teacher is thinking." When an instance comes up that you are required to be creative, often your belief systems will prevent you from finding the solution you need. Many people have attitudes that lock them into thinking with the status quo. These attitudes are fine when it comes to day-to-day activities such as driving a car, riding an elevator, or lining up to buy groceries. But, if you are trying to be creative, those attitudes will get in your way. These attitudes are "mental locks." The ten mental locks identified in this book can be extremely hazardous to your thinking.

Open these locks by becoming aware of them in your thinking. Then forget about them while you generate ideas. Sometimes you will need a "whack on the side of the head...

About the Author

Roger von Oech is also the author of A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, Roger von Oech’s Creative Whack Pack, and Roger von Oech’s Ancient Whacks of Heraclitus He is the founder and president of Creative Think, a California-based consulting company that specializes in stimulating creativity.

Roger von Oech

A Whack on the Side of the Head

What's inside?

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Summary

Ten Mental Locks

About the Author

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