CORT

Question 1

PMI

Answer 1

PMI: Plus, Minus, Interest

Instead of just deciding whether or not you like an idea, this thinking operation has you make an effort to find

P=Plus (the good points)
M=Minus (the bad points)
I=interesting (the interesting points)

The interesting points are those which are neither good nor bad but are worth noticing.

Question 2

CAF

Answer 2

CAF: Consider All Factors

CAF is a crystallisation of the process of trying to consider all the factors in a situation.

People naturally assume that they have considered all the factors, but usually their consideration is limited to the obvious ones.

Turning CAF into a deliberate operation switches attention from the importance of the factors to looking around for all the factors.

The intention with a CAF is to be as complete as possible and to consider all factors rather than looking at them in terms of favourable or unfavourable factors.

Question 3

RUL

Answer 3

RULES: Consider rules and limitations

In thinking about anything there are usually various rules that have to be followed or cannot be broken among the factors to be considered.

Question 4

CNS

Answer 4

CNS: Consequence and Sequel

CNS is a crystallisation of the process of looking ahead to see the consequences of some action, plan, decision, rule, invention etc.

CNS deals with what may happen after the decision has been made.There are immediate consequences as well as short-term, medium-term and long-term consequences.

Question 5

AGO

Answer 5

AGO: Aims, Goals, Objectives

In some situations, it is more appropriate to speak of aims, in other circumstances of goals, and in yet others of objectives.

This notion of purpose broadens the perception of a situation. The AGO is a device to focus directly and deliberately on the intention behind actions.

Question 6

FIP

Answer 6

FIP: First Important Priorities

FIP is a crystallisation of the process of picking out the most important ideas, factors, objectives, consequences, etc. Obviously some of these ideas are more important than others. The purpose of FIP is to restore the balance in a deliberate manner.

Question 7

APC

Answer 7

APC: Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices

In taking action or making a decision there may seem to be few alternatives, but a deliberate effort to find alternatives can change the whole situation. The APC operation is an attempt to focus attention directly on exploring all the alternatives or choices or possibilities - beyond the obvious ones.

Question 8

OPV

Answer 8

OPV: Other People’s Views

OPV is a crystallisation of the process of looking at other peoples viewpoints so that the process can be used consciously and deliberately.

Being able to look at and understand another person’s point of view may be a very important part indeed of the thinking process, and so a deliberate effort may have to he made to see another point of view. This deliberate effort is the OPV. It may apply to another person’s point of view or to other people’s points of view in general.

Question 9

REC

Answer 9

RECOGNISE

The deliberate effort to identify a situation in order to make it easier to understand or to deal with.

Recognition is possibly the most basic of all thinking operations, since it either precedes all others or is their aim. In everyday life, as soon as we recognise something we know how to deal with it.

Question 10

FRAMES (F)

Answer 10

FRAMES

TRIANGLE - Look for purpose.
Triangle frame helps us determine the purpose of looking at the information.
What? (What is the purpose of our information search)? Why? (Why do we need this information?)
Where? (Where should we look?)

CIRCLE - Look for accuracy.
The Circle frame invites us to look directly at the fundamental accuracy of information and not take accuracy for granted.

SQUARE - Look for views.
The Square frame suggest us to look at the information from another perspective or in a different way.

HEART - Look for interest
The purpose of Heart frame is to encourage us to make effort to note matters of interest when these are not quite so obvious

DIAMOND - Look for value
Diamond frame clarifies the values of the information through direct attention.

SLAB - Look for outcomes
Slab frame lays out the outcomes and conclusions from the information.

Question 11

D

Answer 11

Extracting key ideas from the information stream

Question 12

ANZ

Answer 12

The purpose of ANALYSIS is to establish the habit of dividing up complex situations so that it becomes easier to think about them.

There are two different ways of analysing something.

1. COMPONENTS
   Into true or original parts (o.p. analysis).
2. ATTRIBUTES
   Into perceived parts (p.p. analysis).

o.p. analysis can be used to find the components, whereas p.p. analysis can be used, as in the bicycle example; to find the attributes.

Question 13

COMP

Answer 13

COMPARE

We compare something new to something familiar in order to see if we can transfer knowledge from one to the other.
You compare something new to something well-known in order to know more about it.
When two things appear to be very similar you look for the differences, and when they appear very different you look for the similarities.

1. SIMILARITY
   What’s the similar?
   2.DIFFERENCE
   What’s the difference?

Question 14

SEL

Answer 14

SELECT

Selection is another basic operation that comes into much of our thinking. The operation may appear in several guises, as selecting, choosing, judging, matching or fitting, but the basic process is similar.

Question 15

VI

Answer 15

VIEW: View in a different way

When you find a different way of looking at something, you open up new ideas and new lines of thought.

If you escape from a fixed way of looking at the problem, you may be able to solve it more easily.

Question 16

ORG

Answer 16

ORGANISE is concerned with knowing what you are going to do next. The purpose is to supplant the drifting with a definite sense of direction. The organisation does not have to be complex. The important thing is that it should be definite and that there should be a deliberate effort to set up a plan, so that whatever you are doing you know what is to be done next.

Question 17

F

Answer 17

FOCUS

In discussion or personal train of thought. The mind moves from one aspect of the situation to another. This is a natural flow and the people involved assume that they know what they are thinking about.

But if you stop someone in mid-thinking, and ask “Exactly what are you looking at now?” the answer is usually very vague (unless it is so general that it covers the whole subject area).

This is because at any moment the ideas are related more to the preceding ideas than to the situation being considered.

Question 18

CONC

Answer 18

CONCLUDE

It is true that not all situations have a correct answer, but they can still have definite conclusions. For instance, a meeting that ends with the comment: “We are unable to reach agreement on this issue has a definite conclusion but no answer.

The comment that there is no definite conclusion is itself a definite conclusion. It is important to realise this and to emphasise it. If students do believe that there is to be no conclusion then their thinking simply drifts on to an end with nothing achieved

At the very least, those taking part should conclude that they have been wasting their time or are unable to tackle the problem - both these are worthwhile conclusions.

Question 19

EBS

Answer 19

EBS: Examine Both Sides

In an argument situation it can help one to win an argument or to lose it (if you realise the other side does have a better case); to reach agreement or compromise; and not to argue aimlessly just because you have never listened to what the other side is actually saying.

Though there is some overlap, an EBS is not the same as an OPV, since an EBS examines the other side of the question in full, and not just the other person’s view of it.

Question 20

EVD

Answer 20

EVIDENCE

1. TYPE
   There is a very simple classification into FACT and OPINION.
2. VALUE
   We are concerned with examining the importance of a piece of evidence to the argument it supports. This importance is called value.

A) KEY
The central point or key point on which the whole argument depends. If it were not there or were destroyed, the argument would collapse.

B) STRONG
Gives strong support to the argument, but the argument does not collapse without it. Certainly needs to be considered.

C) WEAK
May seem important or true, but really adds very little and could be ignored.

3. STRUCTURE

A) DEPENDENT
Most evidence used in an argument is dependent. That is to say it depends on another piece of evidence.

B) INDEPENDENT
When evidence does not appear to depend on anything else but seems to stand by itself it can be called independent.

Question 21

ADI

Answer 21

ADI: Agreement, Disagreement, Irrelevance

A - AGREEMENT (points on which the two sides agree)

D - DISAGREEMENT (points on which the two sides disagree)

I - IRRELEVANT (points which are irrelevant and do not matter)

Question 22

INTER (F)

Answer 22

INT: Interaction

1) Being Right

A) SHOW
This includes showing what something means; showing why an idea would work (or would not work); showing what would happen if an idea were carried out; showing all the implications and logical deductions. In fact, “show” covers all the usual ways of proving a point.

B) REFER
This includes referring to some outside source of support for the argument. It can mean bringing in facts and figures. It can mean referring to feelings or instincts.

C) NAME
Someone identifies a situation and gives it a name. In this way the experience and value attached to that name become attached to the argument either in favour of something or against something.

D) JUDGE
Here a value-word or value-adjective is used directly to indicate whether something is good or bad.

2) Being Wrong

E) EXAGGERATE
Includes false generalisations. It also includes the “magnitude error,” which is very common in thinking and arises from a lack of sense of proportion.

F) MISSOUT
Means that some parts of the situation or the evidence are simply ignored.

G) MISTAKE
Covers exactly what it seems to cover: mistakes in facts, mistakes in identification, misinterpretations, misunderstandings, getting things wrong in a variety of ways.

H) PREJUDICE
Covers all those fixed ideas which are not open to alteration by argument or evidence, no matter how strong it is.

Question 23

OUT

Answer 23

OUTCOME

Quite a lot may have been achieved, or not very much. The list below shows some possible outcomes, with number 1 being the least useful and number 8 the most useful.

1. We have wasted our time.
2. We at least know each other’s views. (EBS, OPV)
3. We agree on these points but differ on those. (ADI)
4. We have agreed to differ on this matter.
5. We have agreed on the priorities and what needs agreement most. (FIP)
6. We have these alternatives to choose from. (APC)
7. We have reached a compromise.
8. We have reached agreement.

The important thing is to be definite about what has happened in the argument - what the OUTCOME is.

Question 24

PO (F)

Answer 24

PO: Provocation
Po indicates that an idea is not offered as true, accurate, or the way things are, but in a creative sense - to open up new ideas and new ways of looking at things.

Question 25

RND

Answer 25

RND: Random Input The random input technique involves the deliberate introduction of something that is unconnected with the situation. Using po, the random input is held in the same context as the problem to see what new ideas are triggered.

Question 26

CHAL

Answer 26

Challenge a) Concept Challenge Instead of taking things for granted, you can pick out and challenge any concept to see whether it is the only way of doing things. b) Dominant Idea In most situations there is a dominant idea. In order to find new ideas, you may have to detect the dominant idea and then escape from it.

Question 27

DEF

Answer 27

# DEFINE: Define the problem A problem may not be what it appears to be at first. An effort to define a problem exactly may make it easier to solve. The important thing is realise the importance of defining the problem and make an effort in that direction.

Question 28

FAL

Answer 28

FAULT: Remove Fault One way to get an improvement is to pick out all the faults in the existing idea and then try to remove them

Question 29

COMB

Answer 29

COMBINE It is often possible to get something new by combining together two or more old things.

Question 30

REQ

Answer 30

REQUIREMENTS Requirements is concerned both with listing the requirements and with giving them an order of priority. The general principle involved is that ideas do not exist in a vacuum but are connected with a situation which has its own requirements.

Question 31

EVAL

Answer 31

EVALUATION Evaluation means judging an idea to see whether it is going to work. This means looking at the requirements it has to fit, and also looking at the advantages and disadvantages of it. It is rare for an idea to fit all the REQUIREMENTS, but it should at least fit the most important ones. The more requirements that are satisfied, the better the idea.

Question 32

INF

Answer 32

1. FI: Information In Information-in means the information that is given or the information that is included. We abbreviate this to FI (InFormation-In). 2. FO: Information Out Information-out means the information that has been or seems to have been left out. We abbreviate this to FO (inFormation-Out).

Question 33

QUE

Answer 33

1. FQ: Fishing Questions Fishing Questions (FQ) are exploratory. We do not know the answer. We may roughly know the area of the answer. 2. SQ: Shooting Questions With a Shooting Question (SQ) we are not exploring but checking up on something. An SQ always has a "yes" or "no" answer.

Question 34

CLU

Answer 34

CS and CC: Clues Separately and Clues Combined ``` 1. CS: Clues Separately Clues Separately (CS) means examining each clue as with a magnifying glass to try and find out all the things it could possibly mean. ``` ``` 2. CC: Clues Combined Clues Combined (CC) means examining all the clues together to see what they add up to. ```

Question 35

CONT

Answer 35

Contradictions Contradictions may be obvious or they may be hidden. The principle of a contradiction is quite clear: two opposite things cannot both be right at the same time.

Question 36

GUE

Answer 36

1. SG: Small Guessing If you are much more likely to be right than wrong. If you will be right unless something unexpected happens. If there are strong reasons behind your guess. 2.BG: Big Guessing You are just as likely to be wrong as to be right (the odds on your being right are even or worse).

Question 37

BEL

Answer 37

Belief is something that we accept as being true. Sometimes we may hold our beliefs until they are challenged and proved to be wrong. At other times we may continue to insist that our belief is right even though all the evidence indicates that it must be wrong. 1. Belief Personal (BP) is based on personal experience, feeling or proof. I was there. I saw it. I heard it for myself. I did the experiment. I want to believe it. In BP one does one's believing for oneself. One may collect a lot of information from other people. For instance detectives may collect all their information from other people and then come to their own personal belief about who committed the crime. 2. Belief of Others (BO) means that instead of people doing their believing on their own they take over the beliefs of others. In practice this means accepting something "on authority."

Question 38

EMO

Answer 38

Sometimes we start out by liking or disliking something and our thinking follows our feelings. At other times we may start out by thinking about something and then decide that we do not like it and so the emotions seem to follow the thinking. 1. EM: The ordinary emotions include anger, hatred, love, fear, joy, suspicion, jealousy, sorrow, remorse, etc. These are the emotions which we refer to as "feelings." They may be pleasant or unpleasant. They are usually recognisable. 2. EG: The ego-emotions (EG) are concerned with protecting the ego. The ego-emotions are concerned with status. The ego-emotions cover such things as pride, loss of face, needing to be right all the time, not being made to look a fool, being paid attention, etc. They are concerned with a person's image of him/herself as a person.

Question 39

VAL

Answer 39

All our thinking, judgements, choices and actions are based on the values we hold. Value high (VH): These are the things on which we put a high value. This high value may be permanent or it may be just for the moment. Different people may put high values on different things. Value low (VL): These are the things on which we put a low value. When we have to choose between two things we may have to put a higher value on one thing and a lower value on the other. Some people may put a low value on something which other people value highly.

Question 40

SIM

Answer 40

Simplify How can I make this simpler? A simplification is usually shorter than the original. It may incorporate much of the original in a simple statement, but you may have to know the subject very well in order to understand the simple statement.

Question 41

CLAR

Answer 41

Clarify How can I make this more clear? With clarification the effort is to make things more clear. The result may well be a statement which is much longer than the original. Different points which are mixed up in the original information might be spelled out separately in order to avoid confusion.

Question 42

TAR

Answer 42

Setting up targets or aiming at targets is probably the most basic thinking process. Our ability to direct our attention towards some target is what makes thinking a usable skill.

Question 43

FAL

Answer 43

FCO - False Conclusions A false conclusion may be what is known as a non-sequitur, which means that one thing does not follows from the other.

Question 44

RED

Answer 44

Sometimes you are offered ready-made opinions or judgements. These have been made by one other person or they may be the opinions that seem to be held by a lot of people. There are times when you have to use such ready-made opinions because it is impossible to find out everything for yourself. There is nothing wrong with a ready-made opinion, provided you use it as a help (RM-H) to your own thinking and not as a substitute (RM-S) for your thinking.

Question 45

TEC

Answer 45

Target - Expand - Contract The first step is to pick out the target, the next step is to expand upon it and say as much as possible, the third step is to contract what has been said into a summary or conclusion. Start by picking out a definite target and end by saying something definite about it. The purpose of expanding upon the target is to think about it and so come to a useful conclusion.

Question 46

EXP

Answer 46

EXPAND Once we have decided on a target for thinking, the next thing is to explore it and to expand what we have to say about that target.

Question 47

CON

Answer 47

CONTRACT After having found the thinking target the next stage is to expand upon it and say as much about it as possible. The final stage is to contract down to what is important.

Question 48

STRUCT (F)

Answer 48

Using the whole TO/LO/PO/SO/GO sequence (Purpose-Input-Solutions-Choice-Operation). Consolidation of the total TEC-STRUCT framework in which the first three tools (TEC) are used to define and elaborate each of the five stages of the STRUCT procedure.

Question 49

TO

Answer 49

PURPOSE Being clear about the exact purpose of thinking. With what does one want to end up: a decision, a problem solution, an action plan or an opinion? The general purpose of the thinking and also the specific objective.

Question 50

LO

Answer 50

The situation, the scene, the setting, thwe information available, the factors and people to be considered, the total input that goes into thinking.

Question 51

SO

Answer 51

CHOICE The decision process. Choosing between the alternative solutions. Priorities and the criteria for choice. Consequences and review of the decision.

Question 52

GO

Answer 52

OPERATION Operation, Implementation the carrying through the results of the thinking. Setting up the specific action steps that will bring about the desired result. Putting the thinking into effect.

Question 53

SIX (F)

Answer 53

Each "Thinking Hat" is a different style of thinking. These are explained below: White Hat: with this thinking hat, you focus on the available data. Look at the information that you have, analyze past trends, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and try to either fill them or take account of them. Red Hat: "wearing" the Red Hat, you look at problems using your intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also, think how others could react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning. Black Hat: using Black Hat thinking, look at a decision's potentially negative outcomes. Look at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them. Yellow Hat: this hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult. Green Hat: the Green Hat represents creativity. This is where you develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. (You can explore a range of creativity tools to help you.) Blue Hat: this hat represents process control. It's the hat worn by people chairing meetings, for example. When facing difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking.

Question 54

RAD

Answer 54

Recognise, Analyse, Divide. Break a larger concept into smaller, more manageable parts.

Question 55

KVI

Answer 55

Key Values Involved. Ensure that your thinking serves your values.

Question 56

DOCA

Answer 56

Decisions, Outcomes, Choices, Actions. Direct attention to the outcome of the thinking and action that follows.