Card #39 – ”Imagine How Others”

Card #39 – ”Imagine How Others” from the Creative Whack Pack

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

A fun way to stretch your imagination is to ask “what if” someone else were solving your problem.

How would this person — for example, Winston Churchill, the Godfather, Socrates, Homer Simpson, your mother, the Three Stooges, Mother Teresa, Clint Eastwood, the Buddha, Atilla the Hun, Beethoven, or a seven year old girl — go about it?

What assumptions would they bring in? What constraints would they ignore? What special twists would they give to it? What special expertise would they add?

For example, let’s suppose that you’re the principal of a high school. You wonder: what if someone with a mindset like Mark Twain had your job? He would champion heterodoxy in the student body: a variety of different viewpoints would be prized. There’d likely be courses in public speaking, standup comedy, improv, and creative thinking skills.

Story-telling and narrative would also be highlighted — even in the sciences — to make the lessons more memorable. He’d also encourage students to get more of “life’s raw experiences” and develop “spines of steel.”

— What three people do you respect for their creative achievement?

— How would each of them develop your concept?

— How about someone who has been in the news lately?

— How about someone who died recently?

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