I-ma-gi-na-tion: It is a five syllable word and the dictionary defines Imagination as the faculty of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
If you look at the number of syllables, the pronunciation or the dictionary definition of this word, all of it make it seem very difficult and complicated but reality could not be further than this.
Imagination is a feeling or an emotion that is present in each and every one of us. In fact, I would like to define imagination as the act of letting your mind loose and wild , letting it run amok to come up with something unique that can be called exclusively your own creation.
If one wants to see the full power of imagination and its ability, one should just give blank pieces of paper to kids and ask them to draw/paint what they want to. You will be amazed at how different each sheet of paper will look – be it the situations, the characters, the colours that they choose. This is nothing but sheer evidence that imagination is present right from childhood.
I remember reading about a research that was done between two groups – one group comprised of kids and the other group comprised of adults. Both the groups were shown an image of a black dot in the centre of a piece and were asked what it was. As expected, the adult group unanimously answered that it is a black dot. On the other hand, the responses from each kid were different and diverse. While one kid saw the black dot as a tiny burger, the other saw it as a fly that has been killed while the third said that it is one eye and rest of the face needs to be made.
What this proves is that imagination is extremely wild and open when we are kids as we are not bound by practicality, rules, boundaries and expectations and as we grow up, we tend to curb our power of imagination and use it only to a limited extent.
Imagination is not something that needs to be taught or learnt. It is inherent in us. There can of course be channels to whet this imagination further or allow it to get bound by certain boundary conditions so that it does not wander.
One of the ways of checking what imagination can do within a certain boundary is to give the same book to read to 10 different people and then ask them to describe the two main characters or plot of the book. In this case, despite a boundary condition of a book, all 10 people will have a different way of interpreting the character – his looks, his clothes, where he stays and so and so forth.
As a marketer, I often hear that in order for companies to succeed, innovation has to be at the forefront of their strategy. No innovation can be possible without imagination as any new idea, concept or design needs imagination of the mind for something new to materialize.
I would like to conclude that as adults, it is important that we don’t let our imaginative faculties die or come down. People should find ways and means to keep their minds open. Reading Edward De Bono’s Lateral Thinking is just one of those ways. There are many others too…one just has to open one’s mind to see and find it.
If you look at the number of syllables, the pronunciation or the dictionary definition of this word, all of it make it seem very difficult and complicated but reality could not be further than this.
Imagination is a feeling or an emotion that is present in each and every one of us. In fact, I would like to define imagination as the act of letting your mind loose and wild , letting it run amok to come up with something unique that can be called exclusively your own creation.
If one wants to see the full power of imagination and its ability, one should just give blank pieces of paper to kids and ask them to draw/paint what they want to. You will be amazed at how different each sheet of paper will look – be it the situations, the characters, the colours that they choose. This is nothing but sheer evidence that imagination is present right from childhood.
I remember reading about a research that was done between two groups – one group comprised of kids and the other group comprised of adults. Both the groups were shown an image of a black dot in the centre of a piece and were asked what it was. As expected, the adult group unanimously answered that it is a black dot. On the other hand, the responses from each kid were different and diverse. While one kid saw the black dot as a tiny burger, the other saw it as a fly that has been killed while the third said that it is one eye and rest of the face needs to be made.
What this proves is that imagination is extremely wild and open when we are kids as we are not bound by practicality, rules, boundaries and expectations and as we grow up, we tend to curb our power of imagination and use it only to a limited extent.
Imagination is not something that needs to be taught or learnt. It is inherent in us. There can of course be channels to whet this imagination further or allow it to get bound by certain boundary conditions so that it does not wander.
One of the ways of checking what imagination can do within a certain boundary is to give the same book to read to 10 different people and then ask them to describe the two main characters or plot of the book. In this case, despite a boundary condition of a book, all 10 people will have a different way of interpreting the character – his looks, his clothes, where he stays and so and so forth.
As a marketer, I often hear that in order for companies to succeed, innovation has to be at the forefront of their strategy. No innovation can be possible without imagination as any new idea, concept or design needs imagination of the mind for something new to materialize.
I would like to conclude that as adults, it is important that we don’t let our imaginative faculties die or come down. People should find ways and means to keep their minds open. Reading Edward De Bono’s Lateral Thinking is just one of those ways. There are many others too…one just has to open one’s mind to see and find it.
