Six Thinking Hats might save me (I hope)

As you've guessed by now, I'm using my blog as "ikinuki" (a short break) to detach myself from my PhD. It's amazing how freely one sentence follows the other when I work on my blog. With my PhD, however, writing is really hard like hell! It's just that with academic writing, almost every thought and idea need to be backed up with citations. This not only hinders the writing process, but it restricts the thinking process as well. I've been trained in this scientific discipline for years (meager 5 years, to be precise); I feel as if my imagination and creativity are all shrunk within that limited framework. I want to think outside the square, but how?

I was grumbling this to my husband, Then, he put the book "How to Have a Beautiful Mind" by Edward de Bono in front of me, which I had borrowed more than two weeks ago, but haven’t read. When I read a chapter about six hats, I felt enlightened. To start with, I liked the way he puts simple, short, and clear sentences, which aren't interrupted by any citations. But, his suggestions for how to think, how to approach an issue with parallel thinking really struck the cord. The mixture of logical and intuitive (even including emotion) into the thinking process is very unusual, but I can see how beneficial it is. It's a way of tapping all areas of your brain to get the optimal outcome.

For the last few weeks, I felt I was estranged in stagnated water. Now, I desperately need a flow of fresh water in my brain. I’ll see how De Bono’s strategy will help me to get out of this murky water.