Teach your child how to think

I've just finished "Teach Your Child How to Think" by Edward de Bono. It was published in 1994. I found this book while going through things at my childhood home back in Bangkok. Since my daughter was a bit over 3 years old right now, I was thinking it would be an interesting read. And it is!

What I like the most is that Edward, the author, explained clearly what it meant for thinking to be a skill that would be developed over time.

A carpenter would pick up a saw to cut woods. Then, he would put the saw away and pick up a drill to drill a hole. He wouldn't use both tools at the same time by holding a saw on the left hand and a drill on the right hand. One tool is put down and another tool is picked up. When things are broken down like this, improving one's skill is obvious. He would refine his skill in using a saw and a drill individually. Then, he would refine the skill of using a combination of the tools to achieve a better result.

Thinking is analogous. There are different tools. We should put away one thinking tool before picking up a new one to use. The thinking skill is developed by improving the skill in each tool separately and the skill of using different tools together to achieve a better outcome.

Edward offered several thinking tools e.g. generating alternatives, generating other people's opinions, critique an alternative. But I won't go into the details here.

The other thing Edward advocated for was that learning should have been fun. If it wasn't, then we should've moved on. He emphasized each thinking tool should have taken a few minutes. If we enjoy it, then we can make it longer. If not, then we should move on. If we are mentally blocked, then we should move on. That is a refreshing way of learning.