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A whack on the side of the head : how you can be more creative / Roger von Oech.

By: Von Oech, Roger [author.].
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: New York : Grand Central, 2024Copyright date: ©2024Edition: Revised and updated.Description: 352 pages : 21 cm. illustrations.Content type: text | still image Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781538759417 (paperback).Subject(s): Creative ability in business | Creative thinking | Psychology | Success in business | Creativity Self-developmentDDC classification: 153.35 VON
Contents:
Preface -- A Whack on the Side of the Head -- The Right Answer -- That's Not Logical -- Follow the Rules -- Be Practical -- Play Is Frivolous -- That's Not My Area -- Don't Be Foolish -- Avoid Ambiguity -- To Err Is Wrong -- I'm Not Creative -- A Whack on the Other Side of the Head.
List(s) this item appears in: MTU Kerry New Books Summer 2026
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Barcode
General lending MTU Kerry North Campus Library Ground Floor Main 153.35 VON (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 38888000966519
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Unlock your creative side with thought-provoking examples, famous historical anecdotes, mind-bending puzzles and more, with this bestselling classic!

"Business brilliance!" -- USA Today

For more than four decades, A Whack on the Side of the Head has been a consistent leader in stimulating creativity and innovation. Translated into over twenty languages, Roger von Oech's bestselling classic is back--and better than ever! Completely revised, enlarged, and supercharged with new ideas, this definitive edition offers more stories and exercises to bring its famous innovation boosters to a new generation.

Learn how to overcome the ten biggest mental locks and unleash your full creative potential. Use the four roles of the creative process--Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior--to generate and apply new ideas. Exploit the power of discontinuity, constraints, and "playing the Wise Fool" to find the "second right answer"!

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- A Whack on the Side of the Head -- The Right Answer -- That's Not Logical -- Follow the Rules -- Be Practical -- Play Is Frivolous -- That's Not My Area -- Don't Be Foolish -- Avoid Ambiguity -- To Err Is Wrong -- I'm Not Creative -- A Whack on the Other Side of the Head.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Preface (10)
  • A Whack on the Side of the Head (15)
  • Mental Sex
  • What Is Creative Thinking?
  • Mental Locks
  • Opening
  • Mental Locks
  • Getting Whacked
  • Summary
  • 1 The Right Answer (35)
  • Learning How to Think
  • The Second Right Answer
  • Use Your "Forgettery"
  • The Sufi Judge
  • Summary
  • 2 That's Not Logical (59)
  • Soft and Hard Thinking
  • The Creative Process
  • That's Not Logical
  • Making the Strange Familiar
  • The Meaning of Life
  • Summary
  • 3 Follow the Rules (79)
  • Patterns: The Rules of the Game
  • Challenging the Rules
  • Drop
  • What's Obsolete
  • Slay A Sacred Cow
  • Kiss It Goodbye!
  • Appreciate Turbulence
  • Summary
  • 4 Be Practical (105)
  • Our Imaginative Seedbed
  • Ask "What If?"
  • Imagine How Others Would Do It
  • Imagine You're the Idea
  • The Stepping Stone
  • Try Some Improv
  • Be Practical
  • Summary
  • 5 Play Is Frivolous (127)
  • The Moment of Conception
  • Play With It!
  • Add A Constraint
  • Pause fot A Bit
  • Create Your Own Toys
  • Stay Playful
  • Summary
  • 6 That's Not My Area (159)
  • Cross-Fertilization
  • Be An Explorer
  • Be Willing to Be Led Astray
  • See the Obvious
  • Revisit A Discarded Idea
  • Summary
  • 7 Don't Be Foolish (185)
  • Benefits of Conformity
  • Groupthink
  • Consult A Wise Fool
  • Put On Your Wise Fool's Cap
  • Laugh At It
  • Reverse Your Viewpoint
  • Find What's out of Whack
  • Flex Your Risk Muscle
  • My Wise Fool Testimony
  • Summary
  • 8 Avoid Ambiguity (241)
  • Thinking Ambiguously
  • Consult An Oracle
  • Heraclitus
  • Paradoxes
  • Listen to Your Dreams
  • Summary
  • 9 To Err Is Wrong (275)
  • Hits and Misses
  • A Different Logic
  • Is Failure Bad?
  • Is Success Good?
  • Avoid Arrogance
  • Summary
  • 10 I'm Not Creative (295)
  • Self-fulfilling Prophecies
  • Give Yourself A Creative License
  • Discover Your Own Creative Style
  • Stop Fooling Yourself
  • Summary
  • A Whack on the Other Side of the Head (309)
  • The Student Returns to the Creativity Teacher
  • Take A Whack At It
  • Put A Lion in Your Heart
  • Don't Let It Bother You
  • Be Dissatisfied
  • Use Your Shield
  • Watch out for "Moreness"
  • Sell, Sell, Sell
  • Expect A Surprise
  • Assign A Deadline
  • Be Persistent
  • Summary (332)
  • Intellectual Popcorn (334)
  • Selected Bibliography (336)
  • Index of Proper Names (340)
  • About the Author (346)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Roger von Oech's products and seminars have enhanced the creativity of many millions around the world. his clients have ranged from Apple, NASA, and Google to Disney, Visa, and Sony. He is the author ot four books on creativity, and the popular Creative Whack Pack. He's also the inventor/designer of the Ball of Whacks line geometric toys. He earned his PhD Stanford in the history of ideas. He lives with his wife, Wendy, near Palo Alto, California.