Card #28 – Ask “What If?” from the Creative Whack Pack
Available on the iOS App Store and as a physical deck of cards

Put some magic in your thinking by asking “what if” questions.
Simply propose some hypothetical situations and then imagine the implications. For example:
• What if animals became more intelligent than people?
• What if we had mouths in the palms of our hands?
• What if we elected our officials by lottery?
• What if people exuded a foul smell from every pore whenever they did anything bad?
• What if you could only talk for one hour every day?
• What if every person was required to spend at least two years living outside of the country where they were born?
• What if men also had babies?
• What if we had edible clothing?
Making up “what if” questions is enjoyable. The real benefit is where they lead your thinking.
What if dog food manufacturers put non-digestible additives — say, flower seeds— in their products?
Dogs would then become delivery systems going about planting and fertilizing flowers in the neighborhood.
Another additive might be a non-toxic fluorescent material.
This might be especially appropriate in cities at night where pedestrians would know that the object glowing in the dark up ahead is something they don’t want to step in.
— What imaginative “what if” questions can you make up for your problem?
— Where do they lead your thinking?
— What decisions would you make if you knew you had only three months left to live?