Card #5 – ”Second Right Answer”

Card #5 – ”Second Right Answer” from the Creative Whack Pack

Available on the iOS App Store and as a physical deck of cards

French philosopher Émile Chartier:

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one you have.”

Don’t stop with the first right answer you find. Dig deeper and look for others.

This is why professional photographers take so many pictures when shooting an important subject. They may take twenty, sixty, or a hundred shots. They’ll change the exposure, the lighting, the filters, and so on. That’s because they know that out of all the pictures they take, there may be only a few that capture what they’re looking for.

It’s the same way with creative thinking: you need to generate a lot of ideas in order get a few good ones.

Indeed, when you look for more than one right answer, you allow your imagination to open up.

As the eminent chemist Linus Pauling put it:“The best way to get a good idea is to come up with a whole lot of ideas.”

— What’s the second right answer in your situation?

— What good ideas are just below the surface?

— What aren’t you seeing?

Tip: Ask questions that solicit plural answers.

When confronted with a problem, people often ask: “What’s the answer?” or “What’s the result?” as though there were only one. If we ask questions that solicit plural answers such as, “What are the meanings?” or “What are the results?” you will find that people will think a little more deeply and offer more than one idea.

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