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difficult. So if we remove the inhibition and we remove the attacks, surely everyone will be creative. This has a little bit more logic than cutting the rope in the above example because it assumes that everyone has some creative talent.
    Brainstorming does have a value, but it is a very weak process compared with some of the formal tools of lateral thinking. Just removing inhibitions and suspending judgement is not enough. The traditional process of brainstorming sometimes gives the impression of shooting out a stream of (often crazy) ideas in the hope that one of them might hit a useful target.
    There is a need for more deliberate processes to encourage and enhance creativity actively.
CREATIVITY: TALENT OR SKILL?
    This is a very fundamental question. If creativity is an inborn talent then we can search for that talent, nurture it, develop it and encourage it. But there is nothing we can do for those who do not have this inborn talent.
    I remind you that I am writing about idea creativity and lateral thinking rather than artistic talent.
    If idea creativity is a skill then everyone can learn this skill, practise it and apply it. As with any skill, such as tennis, skiing and cooking, some people will be better at the skill than others. Everyone, however, can acquire a usable level of the skill. Idea creativity can be taught and used as formally as mathematics.
BEHAVIOUR
    There are some people who do seem to be more creative than others. This is because they enjoy and value creativity. As a result they spend more time trying to be creative. They build up confidence in their creative abilities. All this does is make them more creative. It is a positive feedback system.
    Some people seem more curious than others. Some people seem to enjoy creativity and new ideas more than others.
    This does not mean that those who do not have this temperament cannot be creative. They can learn the deliberate skills oflateral thinking just as they might learn the basic skills of mathematics. Everyone can learn to add up numbers and multiply them.
    The argument that creativity cannot be taught is usually based on pointing to extreme cases of creativity and talent, such as Einstein, Michelangelo, Bjorn Borg. But imagine a row of people lined up to run a race. The starting signal is given and the race is run. Someone comes first and someone comes last. Their performance depended on their natural running ability.
    Now if all the runners have some training on roller skates, they all finish the race much faster than before. However, someone still comes first and someone still comes last.
    So if we do nothing about creativity then obviouslycreative ability depends only on 'natural' talent. But if we provide training, structures and systematic techniques, then we raise the general level of creative ability. Some people will be much better than others but everyone will acquire some creative skill.
    Then how is this skill to be acquired? Exhortation and example do have some effect, but only a weak one. There is a need for specific mental tools, operations and habits,

which lead to creative new ideas. These tools and techniques can be learned, practised and used in a deliberate manner.
    It is no longer a matter of sitting by a stream and listening to Baroque music and hoping for the inspiration of a new idea. You can try that, by all means, but it is far less effective than the deliberate use of a lateral thinking technique.
    As you acquire skill in the techniques, you develop more confidence and the result is that you get better and better ideas.
    All thelateral thinking tools are designed on the basis of understanding the brain as a self-organising information system that forms asymmetric patterns. Over 40 years of use, the tools have been shown to be effective across a wide range of ages, abilities, backgrounds and cultures. This is because the tools are so fundamental. This is because the tools affect behaviour.
THELOGIC OF CREATIVITY
    It may surprise