I sometimes read paragraphs of an article/paper backwards to keep from putting myself in a spell that has me thinking I understand when I just passed over the words. I learned the technique as part of a proofreading course I took.
It's not all that nice in here, if I'm being honest. There is generally a dad-joke track running in the background at all times, though, so at least I can stay entertained during truly dark times.
Inverted thinking can be useful in examining media. If you are focusing on how the artist achieved his result as much as the end product itself, writing a time jump in the narrative helps.
Example: In his biography of Mel Brooks, "Funny Man", Patrick McGilligan establishes the fact that Brooks was an avid film-goer as a young man, and by the clever use of language, manages to foreshadow how the films he saw had pivotal influences on the comedy films in which he would specialize as a director. An italicized thought attributed to Brooks wonders about how cowboys in Western movies could sit around eating so long without letting off gas- which served as the fulcrum for one of the funniest jokes in his masterpiece "Blazing Saddles".
I need to rewatch Blazing Saddles this year or next. Maybe we'll binge History of the World, Spaceballs, and one or two other MB classics. What a treasure.
It's probably easier for writers to use this in daily life since we use it all the time when writing! Hope your new year is off to a great start, Adetokunbo.
I use a forward thinking technique where you brainstorm around the newspaper headline (and body) you want to read in a year, heralding the smashing success of your project
I think that's right. Inverting and going backwards is a variation on thinking linearly, but of course it's a 2nd direction. If you only go in 2 dimensions, inverting is huge. Thinking with other tools helps round things out a great deal more.
I taught Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People back in 1992-1994! I taught maybe four different sections over the years. It was part of a "Learning to Learn" course for maintenance employees at factories to get up to speed before getting into the automation and control they needed training on for an Electrical Maintenance certificate. The task was a real challenge teaching older students, but in the end it was better than 18-year-olds.
In psychotherapy we often talk about the difference between outcome-oriented thinking versus process-oriented thinking. I've found that engineers, doctors, and lawyers are good at outcome-oriented or inverted ways of processing information, but have a much more challenging time with process-oriented thinking and staying in the moment.
Good point. I think I'm like that, too: it is hard for me to enjoy the moment, because I'm typically thinking far ahead and unsatisfied until I get there. Then, I'm unsatisfied until the next goal, and so on. On the other hand, I can zero in and get into flow state and live in the moment that way, so maybe there are "cheat codes" for dealing with how you're wired. That's your purview, isn't it?
“Know thyself” - Yes, it’s helpful to develop unique heuristics to transition between the two ways of thinking or being. My current favorite is: “I’m a human being, not a human doing.”
I love it. I'm really enjoying exploring psychology, so I greatly appreciate your feedback. Stay tuned - more coming soon, and I look forward to learning a ton (here in the comments as well as while doing research)!
In my word we call this Applied Futures which includes Futurecasting (what we want to happen) and Threat casting (what we want to avoid)
It works pretty damn well. Here's an example: https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/threatcasting
"Suppose that, instead of imagining all the ways a project could go right, we also imagine the ways in which things can go wrong."
Done! That's exactly how my brain already works. Next!
"Then, it’s a relatively simple matter of avoiding doing those things."
I see you haven't met my brain, have you?
Brian (friend, former biz partner) and I will go through these models regularly. We often have the same thought: "that's just called thinking."
Inversion is very natural for me too, but practicing it deliberately is the goal for us this week (or month, however this one lasts).
I also don't usually follow through on avoiding the things.
I sometimes read paragraphs of an article/paper backwards to keep from putting myself in a spell that has me thinking I understand when I just passed over the words. I learned the technique as part of a proofreading course I took.
I've found myself doing this lately if I'm proofing something I've written!
Ah, I see you manage to move past the "worrying endlessly about all the things that can go wrong" phase and to "deliberate" "thinking." Must be nice!
It's not all that nice in here, if I'm being honest. There is generally a dad-joke track running in the background at all times, though, so at least I can stay entertained during truly dark times.
Inverted thinking can be useful in examining media. If you are focusing on how the artist achieved his result as much as the end product itself, writing a time jump in the narrative helps.
Example: In his biography of Mel Brooks, "Funny Man", Patrick McGilligan establishes the fact that Brooks was an avid film-goer as a young man, and by the clever use of language, manages to foreshadow how the films he saw had pivotal influences on the comedy films in which he would specialize as a director. An italicized thought attributed to Brooks wonders about how cowboys in Western movies could sit around eating so long without letting off gas- which served as the fulcrum for one of the funniest jokes in his masterpiece "Blazing Saddles".
I need to rewatch Blazing Saddles this year or next. Maybe we'll binge History of the World, Spaceballs, and one or two other MB classics. What a treasure.
I saw History of the World when I was 17 and had imbibed in some brain lubricants that made it twice as funny.
I think I was around 13. Perfect timing for puberty!
It's good to be the KING
That king was basically me, only without any other humans present.
His popular culture legacy in all media is substantially consequential.
Great work. I think backwards when writing fiction everyday, so this post resonates with me.
It's probably easier for writers to use this in daily life since we use it all the time when writing! Hope your new year is off to a great start, Adetokunbo.
I use a forward thinking technique where you brainstorm around the newspaper headline (and body) you want to read in a year, heralding the smashing success of your project
There's a similar (albeit more morbid) exercise where you imagine what you want to read on your gravestone.
I'm like, "dude who cares i'll be dead"
Dam turning 60 this year faaaaaaaaak
I mean, that's only 60% of the way to 100. I wouldn't worry. Andrews live a long time.
I started counted backwards when I turned 50 with zero as goal. So really, I'm turning 40 again
Dude, I loved 40! Felt like a million bucks.
ok that's the vibe I'm going for then! Andrew's should always feel like a million bucks
Backwards or forwards, it still seems like linear thinking…
I think that's right. Inverting and going backwards is a variation on thinking linearly, but of course it's a 2nd direction. If you only go in 2 dimensions, inverting is huge. Thinking with other tools helps round things out a great deal more.
Inverted thinking could be the next big thing in the linear world…
I taught Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People back in 1992-1994! I taught maybe four different sections over the years. It was part of a "Learning to Learn" course for maintenance employees at factories to get up to speed before getting into the automation and control they needed training on for an Electrical Maintenance certificate. The task was a real challenge teaching older students, but in the end it was better than 18-year-olds.
Covey's stuff was excellent when I first decided to scale the business(es) up. Absolute gold.
In psychotherapy we often talk about the difference between outcome-oriented thinking versus process-oriented thinking. I've found that engineers, doctors, and lawyers are good at outcome-oriented or inverted ways of processing information, but have a much more challenging time with process-oriented thinking and staying in the moment.
Good point. I think I'm like that, too: it is hard for me to enjoy the moment, because I'm typically thinking far ahead and unsatisfied until I get there. Then, I'm unsatisfied until the next goal, and so on. On the other hand, I can zero in and get into flow state and live in the moment that way, so maybe there are "cheat codes" for dealing with how you're wired. That's your purview, isn't it?
“Know thyself” - Yes, it’s helpful to develop unique heuristics to transition between the two ways of thinking or being. My current favorite is: “I’m a human being, not a human doing.”
I love it. I'm really enjoying exploring psychology, so I greatly appreciate your feedback. Stay tuned - more coming soon, and I look forward to learning a ton (here in the comments as well as while doing research)!
Always more to learn!👍
Thanks for the encouragement and help, too. That's one of the best things about writing here.