Card #61 – ”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 Wise 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 Wise 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.

Donning your Wise Fool’s cap puts you in your “best thinking self.”

You become less dogmatic and more playful.

Less afraid to be the person who asks dumb questions and more skeptical of received “truths.”

Less convinced you’ve got the right answer and more likely to see humor in ambiguous situations.

Less concerned about the consequences of bucking the crowd and more apt to speak candidly.

Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky: “The cleverest of all is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month.” Give yourself a license to think differently!

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’?”

The great Danish physicist Niels Bohr felt that thinking like a fool was essential to coming up with breakthrough ideas. During a tense brainstorming session, he told a colleague:

“We all know your idea is crazy. The question is, whether it is crazy enough.”

The great benefit of the Wise Fool’s antics and observations is that they stimulate our thinking. They jolt us in the same way that a splash of cold water awakens us when we’re drowsy.

— Suppose a Wise Fool told you that you are absolutely wrong in your two most basic assumptions about your issue. Think of three reasons why he is correct.

— What seemingly outlandish statements can you make that perfectly describe the true reality of your situation?

— What off-beat things about your issue would a Wise Fool notice that might escape the attention of everyone else?

— Do you have the courage to play the role of the Wise Fool?

— What would a Wise Fool say about your idea?