Card #62 – ”Ask A Wise Fool”

Card #62 – ”Ask A Wise Fool” from the Creative Whack Pack

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

That is what Renaissance kings did to break out of the groupthink environment their “yes-men” advisors created.

It was the Wise Fool’s job to parody any proposal under discussion to make it appear in a fresh light. He might extol the trivial, trifle the exalted, or reverse the common perception of a situation.

The fool will reverse our standard assumptions. He’ll say:

“If a man is sitting on a horse facing the rear, why do we assume that it is the man who is backwards and not the horse?”

The fool is irreverent. He’ll pose a riddle such as:

“What is it that the rich man puts in his pocket that the poor man throws away?”

When he answers, “Snot,” he forces us to re-examine the sanctity of our most basic daily rituals.

Tip: Asking offbeat “why” questions can stimulate your imagination.

Here are a few examples:

• “If camels are the ‘ships of the desert’ why aren’t tugboats the ‘camels of the sea’?”

• “If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the others have to drown too?”

• “Is it against the law to yell ‘Movie!’ in a crowded fire house?”

• “If you put an orchid in your refrigerator and a day later it starts smelling like salami, does the salami start smelling like an orchid?”

• “Which way is clockwise on a digital watch?”

• “If we call oranges ‘oranges,’ why don’t we call bananas ‘yellows,’ or apples ‘reds’?”

— What offbeat “why?” questions can you ask?

— What would a Wise Fool say about your idea?

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