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Thinking outside the box (also thinking out of the box or thinking beyond the box and, especially in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, thinking outside the square) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. The phrase also often refers to novel or creative thinking.


History

The origin of the phrase is unclear. "Think beyond the boundary"-metaphors, that is, metaphors that allude to think differently or with less constraints, seem to have an old history. For example, in 1888,
The Annual Register ''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...
records the phrase ''think outside the lines''. Since at least 1954, the
nine dots puzzle The nine dots puzzle is a mathematical puzzle whose task is to connect nine squarely arranged points with a pen by four (or fewer) straight lines without lifting the pen. The puzzle has appeared under various other names over the years. History ...
has been used as a metaphor of the type "think beyond the boundary". Early phrasings include ''go outside the dots'' (1954), ''breakthrough thinking that gets outside the nine-dot square'' (1959), and ''what are the actual boundaries of the problem?'' (1963). In 1969,
Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book ''The Power of Positive ...
writes this in an article for the
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
, quote: In 1970, the phrase ''think outside the dots'' appears without mentioning the nine dots puzzle. Finally, in 1971, the specific phrase ''think outside the box'' is attested, again appearing together with the nine dots puzzle. In 1976, the phrase is used in England and 1978 in the USA, both without mentioning the nine dots puzzle. Beyond the above attestations, there are several unconfirmed accounts of how the phrase got introduced. According to
Martin Kihn Martin Kihn is an American writer and digital marketer. Early life and education Martin Kihn was born in Zambia, where his parents met while working in a hospital. His South African-born father is a doctor, and his Scottish mother, a former actre ...
, it goes back to management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the "nine dots" puzzle.Kihn, Martin
"'Outside the Box': the Inside Story,"
''FastCompany'' 1995
According to
John Adair John Adair (January 9, 1757 – May 19, 1840) was an American pioneer, slave trader, soldier, and politician. He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. A native of South Carolina, Ada ...
, he introduced the nine dots puzzle in 1969, from which the saying comes. According to The Creative Thinking Association of America, Mike Vance popularized the phrase "thinking out of the box".Biography of Mike Vance
at Creative Thinking Association of America. Moreover, it is claimed that the use of the nine-dot puzzle in consultancy circles stems from the
corporate culture Historically there have been differences among investigators regarding the definition of organizational culture. Edgar Schein, a leading researcher in this field, defined "organizational culture" as comprising a number of features, including a s ...
of the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, where the puzzle was used in-house.


See also

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Egg of Columbus An egg of Columbus or Columbus' egg ( it, uovo di Colombo ) refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to an apocryphal story, dating from at least the 16th century, in which it is sai ...
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Einstellung effect Einstellung () is the development of a mechanized state of mind. Often called a problem solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though better or more appropriate methods of so ...
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Eureka effect The eureka effect (also known as the Aha! moment or eureka moment) refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. Some research describes the Aha! effect (also known as insight or ...
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Functional fixedness Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person to use an object only in the way it is traditionally used. The concept of functional fixedness originated in Gestalt psychology, a movement in psychology that emphasizes holistic process ...
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Gordian Knot The Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great who is said to have cut the knot in 333 BC. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (untying an impossibly tangled knot) sol ...
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Kobayashi Maru The ''Kobayashi Maru'' is a training exercise in the ''Star Trek'' franchise designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario. The ''Kobayashi Maru'' test was first depicted in the 1982 film '' Star Trek II: The W ...
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Lateral thinking Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. It involves ideas that may not be obtainable using only traditional step-by-step logic. The term was first ...


References


Further reading

* (more solutions to the nine dots problem - with less than 4 lines!) * *


External links

{{Wiktionary, outside the box
Out-of-the-box vs. outside the box
citing Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (OALD), Word of the Month Problem solving skills Creativity Systems thinking