Wondering why communication is so hard? Or how two, intelligent, educated people can come to such different conclusions on any given topic? I suggest it’s because we don’t all use the same processes to think. Dive in and comment below – there’s a great debate and we want your opinion!
I was tasked at work to blog on the difference between Linear Thinking and Non-Linear Thinking, and how it relates to business. Not being an expert in the subject (but not feeling limited in expressing my opinion either) I dove in. Please feel free to comment – I love hearing your opinion.
Logic and Creativity
Some of us pride ourselves on being logical. We think through ideas with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine. We enjoy structured thought and evidence-based conclusions. I’m sure you know the type – we plan out every step of a process, follow the Gantt chart to the “t”, and ensure results within schedules and deadlines.
Others of us pride ourselves on being creative. We rejoice in the big ideas, in the new discoveries, and in the satisfaction of creation. We are always coming up with new ways to solve problems, love the questions “what if?” and don’t mind jumping ahead in a conversation to tell you what we just thought of.
Or perhaps you find yourself some mixture of the two (if I had to bet, I’d guess this is the likely scenario).
I suggest that these two characteristics of humans (logic and creativity) are often correlated with two different, but not disconnected types of thought processes: Linear thinking and non-Linear thinking. Rather than argue that one is more important or practical than the other, I suggest that both linear and non-linear thought processes are integral to success in business and, on the grander scale, life.
The Linear Nature of Logic
“Linear Thinking” is defined as follows:
[Linear thinking is] a process of thought following known cycles or step-by-step progression where a response to a step must be elicited before another step is taken.
Linear means “like a line”, and so a linear process moves forward in a line. If a = b, and b = c, then a = c. The application of linear thinking can be found in the well known Socratic Method:
a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas
Jan Helfeld (pronounced Iain), a rather infamous libertarian reporter, provides an amusing (or infuriating – depending on who’s side you’re on) application of the Socratic method to our political representatives. It’s all very logical, and for those who don’t build their policies or opinions on logic, it’s a game that raises tempers with captivating efficiency. After watching, I tend to wonder if any of our policy makers think through their political conclusions logically. Logic seems lost from our world, like an ancient language that’s spoken only by tribes of some distant jungle.
More important to this blog’s argument however, is that Jan’s use of the Socratic method is also extremely linear, and evidence that Jan thinks in a linear fashion (or at least enjoys doing so). As much as the person in the hot seat wants to jump around and evade, Jan forces them to answer one question before they move on to the next. The videos remind me of walking a puppy – when they want to walk every direction but the one you’re traveling. You rein them in every time before moving forward.
Though you may doubt it after watching Jan Helfeld’s videos, much of our world is indeed structured upon the concept of logic (very basic logic at least). We learn math, deductive reasoning, and tend to apply these logical processes to our everyday life. Our drive to do so comes from our inherent need, as cognitive humans, to categorize our experiences in our minds and make projections about what the outcome of an action will be. We compare our expectations with our experience, weigh the similarity, and adjust our thought processes as needed.
Linear thinkers are very much the same; they start at step one and usually do a good and efficient job of completing the task before moving on to step two. They are driven, focused, and don’t easily get off topic. Does this sound like you? Perhaps. Or maybe it sounds like the person in the office you have a tough time working with?
The Dangers of Logic
There’s a danger in relying too heavily on logic. The danger is in the determination of the starting point. Once a starting point is chosen, there are a limited number of logical conclusions to any given problem. For example, imagine a store owner who believes that he must raise his revenues to increase his profits. He tries multiple methods including advertising, increasing inventory, and product bundling to bring in more customers and increase sales. But he forgot that he could also reduce his costs to increase profits, and in doing so missed what might have been much less expensive, less demanding options.
This example is simplistic, but it underscores the point that for any logical process, there must be a decided-upon truth as a starting point. And the beauty of logic, is that it allows us to reach an answer from a given starting point. It’s easy, however, to rely upon starting points simply because they’re what we’ve used all our lives – starting points that either may be false, or that limit us from finding a much better answer. In fact, I’ve written another article all about the problems in our political systems stemming from mismatched starting points. You can read it here.
Non-Linear Thinking
Non-linear thinking, a relatively new term, is vague enough (perhaps naturally so) that a simple google search will yield more beatings-around-the-bushes than formal definitions for the phrase. I think of it as follows:
Non-Linear Thinking is human thought characterized by expansion in multiple directions, rather than in one direction, and based on the concept that there are multiple starting points from which one can apply logic to a problem.
Non-linear thinking is less constrictive – letting the creative side of you run rampant because of its inherent lack of structure. It’s kind of like letting a puppy run wild on a walk up a mountain – anything of interest will be thoroughly investigated (and perhaps peed on) before jumping to the next, possibly non-related subject! It’s very much like brainstorming – allowing thought to flow, unhindered, in attempts to arrive upon something special in the process.
Non-linear thought increases possible outcomes by not being so certain about the starting point for any logic process. Non-linear thinkers tend to jump forward, and from side to side through the steps of a project, in an effort to see the big picture and tackle those areas where they have the most interest. Where non-linear thinking falters is in finally carrying out the required action, because as a thought process it often encourages a user to agonize incessantly over where to start (that agreed upon truth, from which logic can be applied and action can be taken).
A new form of digital presentation created by the folks at Prezi.com is a great example of non-linear and linear thinking in action. Why? Because rather than a linear slide show, it’s ultimately a picture, into which you can zoom in and out, infinitely. It allows you to present a product, concept, or argument in a logically by moving from location to location what is essentially group of images, but at any point you can zoom out and suddenly, “See the big picture” takes on a whole new meaning – Check it out!
Is Non-Linear Thinking the same as Fragmented Thinking or Disordered Thinking?
Is non-linear thinking the same as fragmented thinking? The truth is, I’m not sure. Medically speaking, fragmented and disordered thinking seem types of thought processes that are similar to “non-linear thinking” but more extreme in their severity. Fragmented thinkers, or disordered thinkers suffer from inability to string thoughts together such that they have a hard time forming sentences. I’m sure we’ve all experienced times in which our thoughts were difficult to control, or when we couldn’t seem to come to conclusions about a given topic. That said, fragmented thinkers may experience this as the norm in their lives.
In Conclusion
Again, as in my introduction, I stress the importance of both processes. And what I mean by this is maybe it’s important to have both types of thinkers on a team. Or perhaps its fine to experience both types of thinking in your own mind, and to understand how and why both thought processes can be useful. Not that I’m so certain one can force themselves to think a certain way. However, we can put ourselves in positions that encourage certain types of thought.
Need to get something done, a task for which you know the starting point and the desired outcome? It may be worth your while to place yourself in an environment with few distractions and keep yourself on target.
That said, many business leaders take intentional breaks to go on walks and to “tend their gardens” mentally, allowing their minds to wander and think and perhaps stumble upon ideas and answers they hadn’t previously considered.
When it comes to the teams of people you work with, remember that for any given problem, you need those naturally creative types to work in sync with those who can hold their noses to the grindstone. Use non-linear thought processes (and those who are naturally good at acting this way) to reexamine starting points and increase the possibility of finding the best option, and use linear thinkers and their efficient logic-based reasoning, once a starting point has been established, to get the job done in a timely manner.
Whatever mixture of these two processes you prefer, take responsibility for your choices and learn from your mistakes, and I’ll bet on your success.
~Cecil “Chuck” McCumber
PS – What is linear thinking? What is non-linear thinking? Want to take a shot at your own definition (like I did)? I’d love your feedback! Comment below!
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I like your analysis Chuck, but I disagree with your neutrality. I am obviously a logical, linear thinker. My business kind of requires this. In my opinion, non-linear thought is great for breakthroughs, but most of the time it just clogs up the works.. Humanity has come a long way from the guessing games of the dark ages. I agree that a free-thinker is essential to a team of thinkers, but I think it should be a ratio of 4 to 1.
Hey P.S. Chuck,
I love you as my brother in law. You really are an intellectual person, and I love the dialogue you provide. My sister chose well. Keep blogging Chuck, I’ll keep reading.
I am of the non-linear thought type, though I’ve recently discovered this label due to trying to figure out my 5 year old son (who is like me) and deal with his challenges at school. We are both highly visual learners with fast processing skills (for my son this is called “gifted”). My husband prefers the term Bright Shiny Object or Squirrel (from the movie “Up”) because we easily get distracted and go off course(: That said, I believe I am also extremely logical. Puzzles, sudoku, cryptograms, etc., all come very easily to me because they’re just simple logic. I believe I work in a linear, non-linear fashion. Yes, I jump around from here to there based on new information and easily step back to see the big picture, but each detail is completely thought out with all contingencies processed before moving in another direction. It’s like doing a word search puzzle. A linear person would go through the list of words one at a time, checking them off in order as he found them. If he’s looking for the word LINEAR, he goes through the puzzle line by line looking for the letter L, then the letter I around it, until he finds the word. I would do the same thing; however, I start with looking at the whole list of words I’m searching for, then look at the whole puzzle until I see those letter combinations. I still look for the I around the L, then an N, and so forth. If that L does not spell LINEAR, I move on to the next L, then the next, the next, etc. I’ve found that completing word search puzzles this way enables me to finish them in less than half the time of everyone else because I’m looking for all the words at the same time.
Imagine that!! I google this subject and look who’s mug I am exposed to!?? Damn!! Scary!
Thanks for the insights on the Non Linear type!!
Chuck
I appreciate the neutrality, as a non-linear thinker dogged by years of education to the contrary (aka linear thinking). I think a balance is great on a team. I also agree that some processes may not lend themselves to the use of non-linear thought.
Thanks for helping me clarify some ideas!
Chuck,
I enjoyed your analysis. I, being a non-linear thinker have always felt inferior to the linear thinker. Due to some recent developments, I am happy to see my “talents” may be of value.
Hey there Chuck!
What a wonderful and fabulous explanation of what “linear and non-linear thinking” is!! I was once told that maybe the reason I found Algebra “TOO OVERWHELMING” and was so “LOST” and would find myself just “STARING” at the paper, not knowing what to do next, was because I didn’t have Linear Thinking. In high school my dad spent hours upon hours with me trying to get me to understand the easiest problems in algebra, of course, without success. I graduated HS in 1974 with a “D-“, barely making it. So decades later, I wanted to try again. Before I died, I wanted to “CONQUER” the monster “algebra.” Well, I easily got through College Mathematics, refreshing myself with fractions, decimals, and percentages, and geometry. I simply love geometry!! But it unfortunately it didn’t matter. I could not get past a certain point in the class. It was so overwhelming, so much to think about at once, I couldn’t do it. And I was upset, because my eventual goal was to learned and understand the concepts of physics. But without algebra as a mainstay, it wasn’t happening.
So I wanted to know what Linear thinking was, and if I was not Linear, then what was I? I googled “what is linear thinking?” and I got you!. I am very creative, making crafty things out of off the wall objects, like I made a lamp shade out of a clear plastic bowl, turned upside down. Decorating it with all kinds of themes, and colors. I see things not for what they are supposed to be but for what I can make it be. I am also ADHD and Bi-Polar and have been completely stabalized for years on medications. I am damn near compusive when it comes to problem solving, being a person who “never says DIE”, always determined to figure out how to fix the problem at hand. I firmly believe in “If there’s a will, there’s a way!” I drive my husband and friends insane sometimes because I interupt all the time, throwing ideas into the mix, often thinking ahead of them, commenting on the topic before they have even reached that point. I am constantly changing the subject, interjecting one thing, then going back to the original thing, and yes, I am going back and forth, and back and forth. THANK YOU FOR YOUR IDEAS ON THE SUBJECT, IT HAS TOTALLY HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND MYSELF A LITTLE BETTER, AND TRUTHFULLY I FIND WHAT YOU SAID TO BE VERY COMPLIMENTING. THANKS!
P.S. At work, I was school bus driver for over 20 years, and I was a fanatic when it came to testing! I had to be perfect, always.
Interesting thought’s and descriptions on the topic of Linear and Non Linear thinking patterns. Thanks for sharing! I plan to finish a M.S. degree in Media Psychology and Learning Theories. So I am keenly interested in these topics. I characterize myself as “both” linear and non linear depending on project or task at hand.
Racheal
According to radio tak show host, Neal Boortz, 9/10/2011, linear logic is proclaimed by some to be “racist.”
That boggles the mind. Those who want to inject “creativity” into logic, using non-proven theories as their starting point, want to skirt the issue and avoid facing reality. That is the reason that in politics we see so many arguments quickly degenerate into shouting matches in order to obfuscate prima facie facts that one party or another do not want to concede or face. The shouting match is more proof of the degeneracy and dcadence of our society. A strong set of pipes, which ignorant people seem to inherently have, has become a substitute for sound thought and intelligent discussion.
I was researching “linear vs non-linear thinking” and your blog on this subject is by far the best. Now 55 years old, I finally realized what my high school principal could not understand – why I could beat the crap out of him in Chess (he thought he was very good), yet fail miserably at Math (he was also my math teacher!).
Also aside from the fact I’m male with a “gifted” daughter, Talisha’s comments could be mine
Thank you for some great insights.
I only recently started hearing the terms linear thinking and non-linear thinking. Today I decided to see what google had to tell me about the subject, and the first hit I looked at was your thoughtful blog article. Before I started, I strongly suspected that I was a non-linear thinker. Thanks to your definitions and excellent examples, which you got exactly right, there’s no doubt that I’m strongly non-linear in my thought process. In my business life, I’ve been challenged and frustrated when my linear thinking colleagues can’t follow how I got from point A to point Z. You’re absolutely correct when you point out that a big difference between the effectiveness linear vs non-linear thinking is in finding the right starting point. Too many times in my career as a Software Architect, I’m given a task where the starting point is predetermined by management, only to find that I end up down a dead end. This forces me to back up a few steps to better understand what the real problem is, the big picture if you will. I’ve come to the point where I question all the going in assumptions and strive to see the big picture up front. When working in a team with linear thinkers, they get frustrated and impatient at my need to put my arms around the entire problem. Sometimes I’m in this mode, my colleagues tell me, with a hint of hostility, “You can’t boil the ocean”, which irritates me as being a cop-out. The downside to my well developed analytical skills is, as you accurately pointed out, I have trouble whittling down the options for a starting point which tends to slow me down in actually accomplishing something. This is particularly true if the project I’m working on is a personal one of my own devising. I have had so many great ideas die on the vine because I have trouble committing to them.
Rambling aside, I appreciate your article as it helps me understand why I often feel like a square peg in a round hole, and it gives me hope that I can tame my puppy like instincts to make more productive use of my “gift”.
Thanks
Loved what you had to say Robin about jumping to conclusions faster than others when it came to certain subjects and hating algebra in high school…I finally “Got It” by studying on my but I think it was because of having a “Jerk” Algebra teacher.
Thanks for the interesting post. Logic-based thinkers – the mathematicians and scientists among us – I’ve always referred to as “strictured (strictured, not structured) thinkers”: they reason via “kernels of thought” rather than the grand overview. I’m definitely a big-picture, move-around-a-lot-until-it-just-feels-right kind of thinker, so I feel the disparity! I do agree with those who say that the world needs both types!
Thank you! Well said. I think I’m both. The trick is knowing which to use when.
I stumbled on this blog while doing a homework assignment. Holy crap! Is that a party hat on your head?
Wouldn’t the antonym of linear thinking be spatial thinking instead of non-linear thinking? Although spatial thinking is referenced towards mathematics, etc. I believe that spatial thinking incorporates a 360 degree awareness of surroundings whereby sights, sounds and even smell will trigger memory of past events. Linear thinking perhaps contributes towards blocking triggers of past memorable events (people, places, things and even past emotions).
To take this one step further; mood disorder medication may hinder spatial thinking by force in order for a patient to focus on the here an now in a present step by step process which could be a beneficial treatment. This could be an example of where linear thinking comes in.
Of course a permanent depreciation of spatial thinking caused by medicine would be alarmingly detrimental.
I have described myself as a “Linear Thinker” for years, and thought I made up the term to describe myself for a lack of a better one. I fit your definition very nicely. The reason I chose to describe myself this way is because it tends to explain why I can only do on project at a time. I don’t multitask well. Do you find that linear thinkers a plagued by that also? I have to finish one project (or abandon it) before I can concentrate on a new one.
Very interesting subjects. It may benefit you all to read “Your Creative Brain: Seven ways to improve ..” by Shelley Carson from Harvard. The book is concerning the areas of the brainsets that permit creativity vs. shut down creativity. I found it an interesting book. Takes “brainstorming” to new heights.
Imagine we are frogs on lillipads in a pond. Linear thinkers are masters of their lillipad. They may be able to bounce across to the nearest pad, if they can see it.
A nonlinear thinker is the frog in the tree looking down at all of the lillipads. He doesn’t know too much about each lillipad, but, he can tell you how to hop from lillipad to lillipad to get from one side of the pond to the other.
I am in the nursing field and I have seen this ‘linear thought process’ numerous times in many patient’s “History and Physical” which gave me the impression that something is wrong with the patients way of thinking. Doctors usually use this phrase on their mentally illed patients. Your explanation gave me a more positive perspective to it. Thanks.
interesting article…lots of advice on improving creativity on the web
wish there was more on linear thinking.
creativity can be annoying sometimes, its really not as useful as linear thinking
someone once described non linear thinking as a reverse gear in a car ..very useful but your not going to want to drive round in reverse all the time
i believe everyone is capable of both
you just have to use a different part of the brain and there are activities and techniques to tap into each way
one way requires focus the other way is more like a sail blowing where ever the wind goes
Trying to tech my kids about the power inside themselves, I came across your blog…. I am very good researching, and so far I have not found a better explanation/clarification of these two terms. What I call linear and holographic thinking can be very tricky explaining to kids…. Thanks so much for deciding to write about it.
Have just had someone explain to me he was a non-linear thinker.. so decided I needed to look this up. I guess I too fall into the same category, having not really understood alot of the same above… algebra – makes no sense to me at all.. sure, here’s the answer, but I can’t get there from here, step by step. My mind is distracted easily, but it always comes back to where it needs to be, and in the distraction I can find answers to what I was thinking about before the distraction. So if that makes sense to anyone, terrific.
Actually:
the following statement is false:
> If a = b, and b = c, then a = c. The application of linear thinking can be found in the well known Socratic Method:
The Socratic method describes the process of inference which is not linear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inference
Hi Chuck.
I found your article on the differences between linear and non-linear thought processes through a very specific and precise thought, which subsequentially ended up as a random happenstance of a choice from several sites povided to me by the good, creative people at google. I find that I am able to relate to the linear thought process in various ways, but find I am able to relate to the non-linear thought process, as well. Perhaps these two processes cannot be deemed to be equivilant within one person’s brain- the proverbial teeter-totter is slightly tipped on one end or the other.
Both seem feasible in both the structured and the vastly creative sense.
Question:
If the socratic thinker equates that A = B, B = C, thus, A =C, then how many non-lin thinkers does it take to calculate the aforementioned equation?
Answer:
It depends on how many angles the non-linear thinker(s) are able to look at the equation from, what colors each letter representing each element of the equation are (i.e. warm vs. cool colors), what time of day it is, can they ride bikes while consider it, and could the whole equation be just as accurate and meaningful if it were called the Eleanor Rigby equation and that entertaining the notion that if R = S, and S =T and, thus, R=T were acceptable.
All jokes aside, seriously, your blog is awesome, and I cannot wait to see all of your other blogs.
Kindly,
Amy
Is it possible that linear and non-linear may be different sides of the same coin? The end result is how it lands after a pitch and toss? I’m more non-linear, but go back and forth in my thought processes. My non -linear side foreshadows the end result,but the logic takes me there. I’m a new writer, previously a painter.
Linear and non linear thinking are two very different things. To say that one is better than the other is like trying to argue that a hammer is better than a saw. They do different things. Wouldn’t it be silly for someone to say that he or she uses only hammers and never saws?
Looking at it a different way, linear thinking is like taking careful aim at a target with a rifle then firing. Non linear thinking ifs finding out where in the world your target is in the first place.
If you go bird hunting in a forest you have to look and search everywhere to find a bird to shoot. That is the nonlinear part if part of it. Is the bird in this tree or that tree, is it sitting at the top of some tree or near the bottom? When you see the bird then you steady your rifle, you unllock the safety so you can fire, you carefully get the bird in your cross hairs, then you fire. But you are still not done. You have systematically go to where you think the bird fell and look for it. Maybe in that final search you must invoke a nonlinear process again to find the bird you shot.
We human beings are amazing creatures. We are the only creature on this planet that has walked both on the earth and the surface of the moon. It took both types of thinking to achieve that. Use all the tools in your tool box and live life to the fullest. It is the only way to live. Remember if you insist on using only a hammer and never a saw your carpentry is going to suffer.
Doug
Interesting stuff, all of it – the article and replies.
As someone pointed out, I believe it depends on what part of the brain is utilized. I use both linear and non-linear, but I believe I’m more non-linear.
I was always lousy in math, only went as far as basic algebra in H.S. It would also depend on the teacher who was teaching it. I had one teacher who constantly failed me, because although my final answer was correct, the formula was not (according to her). My argument was: If the answer is correct, who cares?!
I went on to college a few years after H.S., went for civil engineering, so I was a bit older than my peers AND the only female. My drafting teacher gave us a surprise (drawing) test. He said, “This is where your trig and calculus will come in!” I had had neither.
With dread, I began the test. I was the first one finished (in record time apparently) and it was right!!
My professor said, “How did you do it?!” I shrugged, tried to explain it, but my thinking is so abstract, I couldn’t. He asked if I took calculus or trig.. Nope! He was amazed.
You have equated linear thought with logical thought.
Logical thought is by no means linear. To say that it were would be the same as saying mathematics as a discipline is linear in nature, which is also untrue.
-Mathematician
This applies particularly well to chess, which is a great closed testing environment for different types of thinking, and results. I sometimes went on a winning streak against opponents with much higher ELO rating. There was a certain mood, a playful twisted smile and constantly narrowing and widening concepts going through my mind, and when some outrageous enough idea appeared, I just hit the cold logic gear and went on with it, and repeated.
Same with math. It’s either underperforming big in brute force logic, or the balanced abstract gear with unorthodox methods but right results.
On a societal scale the problem lies in the recognition and measurement of the types, and even more in categorization and what would entail it. Currently for “non-linear” thinkers there’s no option but to “fall into place” almost by accident, in society.
This reminded me of Wintermute, an A.I. in the novel Neuromancer:
“One of the Tessier-Ashpool AIs. Its goal is to remove the Turing locks upon itself, combine with Neuromancer and become a superintelligence. Unfortunately, Wintermute’s efforts are hampered by those same Turing locks; in addition to preventing the merge, they inhibit its efforts to make long term plans or maintain a stable, individual identity (forcing it to adopt personality masks in order to interact with the main characters).”
Hey Chuck, I really like your visual of walking a puppy. That is almost impossible and walking a cat on a leash is almost impossible. DRagging a puppy or a cat on a leash is more like it.
>Had fun reading your neutral. 🙂
Do you think between the two that one tends more toward ‘reason’ and the other more toward ‘rationalization’?
Thanks,
Cody
A friend and I were having a political discussion and at some point she told me that I’m a linear thinker. I’m a conservative and she is a progressive. Instead of staying on topic,I beleive she attacked my thought process. Sometime later while on vacation a conservative friend told me he was having a political discussion with a progressive and was told that he was a linear thinker. I,m pretty sure this is a way of changing the subject and going to the personal attack Something like being accused of racism, sexism, homophobic,Islamaphobic etc etc etc. Now add linear thinking. If you can;t support your side, shift the topic to the personal.
Wow Diana, i just came from a meeting where the so called professional meeting leader said that i was a linear thinker, so bah bah bah is what i heard after that. It was an attack and shut me up for a little bit until i turned on my non-linear mode and then was shut down because it was not linear i believe. So later at the end of the meeting when she wanted specifics for action my linear self offered her to pony up and offer her venue for an art show , she switched directions completely, to what task do we need to delegate to close the meeting. She asked me so what do you think, i pouted and said i just hear to listen and then was task to write a psa for local newspaper. Ok i was mad and googled this article to see what the hell she said about me. I think that i am Both just let me go and i will be whichever one you want me to be. Or am i just crazy. Wait a minute squirrel. Thanks for blog, i’m now repairing my ego i think.
Here’s a sample conversation between a linear thinker vs a lateral (non-linear) thinker:
Linear: “Hi Lat, how are you today?”
Lateral: “Tuesday”
Linerar: “I asked you how you are doing today, not what day it is”
Lateral: “Oh, I am going to the store today”
Linear: “Lat, I meant how are you feeling today not so much what you’re going to do but I was going to ask you that next”
Lateral: “Oh, sorry…I am feeling thirsty, shall we get some water to drink?”
Linear: “I meant are you feeling happy, sad, angry?”
Lateral: “I’m not mad at you”
Linear: “Who’s on first”
Lateral: “I don’t know”
Linear: “Third Base”
Lateral” “Oh ok….that’s right”
🙂
Great blog post!
Chuck
Really interesting: in particular the description of the difference in approached to the starting point. I see this challenge whenever there is a complex change project. Linear thinkers stall because people cannot agree on where the starting point is, so they cannot agree on the first step, or it is taken and thereby sows the seeds of dissent, confusion, resistance and failure. Switch it round the projection a future state, the benefits to be realised (the old SoftSystems visioning thing) get all parties (linear and non-linear thinkers) to buy in to that future state and then work back through the different enabling steps to get to the starting points. I invariably find that they are different for different stakeholders and that taking this approach allows people to admit freely that they are starting from different places but can then agree on what to do to get to a common end point.
So linear tends to be I have a plan – we must follow the plan, non-linear tends to be – we have a destination – on which we agree – so let’s work out how we are all going to get there.
All things in moderation. Each of us can be placed on a continuum of whatever characteristic under discussion. It is not one or the other but the degree to which it is expressed. Like concreat v abstract thinking, it is the lack of balance that causes problems. Strict linier thinking falters with unexpected variables and requires a defined starting point where absolute non-linier thinking can easily start at any piont and just as easily never reach a conclusion due to starting another line of thought. The key is to recognize your type and seek or at lease accept balance from another type. If ” Get your ducks in a row” tells you to train waterfowl, you lack the ability to abstract and you probably need to get out more,,, with people.
Firstly, I disagree with your brother-in-law’s assertion that an arbitrary ratio could possibly be applied here, or that one type of thinker could possibly be more or less important than another, but it’s easy to see how radically linear thinking could lead to such a conclusion 🙂
Secondly, I disagree with the general thesis herein, which tends to imply that one must be a linear thinker or a non-linear thinker, as if it is a genetic trait, or a fundamental choice one makes at a single point in time. Non-linear thought is every bit as much an accident as the results it has the capability of producing, and it comes from being adventurous. Scientists show, through studies, that kids who play outside are more creative and are better problem solvers. This is because when kids play outside they expose their minds to a more dynamic environment, which opens more “circuits”. Creativity is more than positively correlated to non-linear thinking, therefore (to use syllogism, as Socrates might have :), non-linear thinking can logically be said to be at least incidentally resultant from exposure to a wide variety of environmental circumstances.
Non-linear thought is emergent. It isn’t something you can train yourself to do. It is something you allow to happen by removing ego from thought processes, and letting them run wild. In other words, “linear thinkers” should not brag at their inability to accept things that they can’t comprehend. I, and many others whose works I’ve read and some who I’ve made acquaintance with have the ability to think in both manners, and it’s not a gift, nor is it a difficult goal to accomplish. Just let go when the answer to your problem is not obvious and you’ll get there…
I only read 2-3 sentences and a few comments. I love how people are obsessed with classifying themselves and their children with “disorders” and “gifts” though… Congratulations you just stumbled upon a advertising driven content site and had all of your questions answered.
Joe,
I’m interested in what you meant by “an advertising driven content site.” To be honest, I’ve seen an incredible increase in the amount of traffic to this single blog post – so much so that I’ve recently considered incorporating advertising (at least more advertising than the link on the sidebar to my band’s website.) But the site ranks highly on google almost exclusively for its content, likely because I published said content years ago when the subject had not been explored in a major way online. That being said, what did you mean by “advertising driven”?
I think Michael A’s response provides a very good perspective on the subject at hand. Insightful and quite relevant. I’m definitely more naturally non-linear thinking, and also get the feeling that those who seem to be “stuck” in linear thinking are very much ego driven types. When in any given situation, ego is truly at the core of all thought processes, motive/purpose, etc., it just quickly imposes finite boundaries to any situation which cannot be transcended for any purpose, until the ego-driven aspect is surrendered. .
Fascinating information and I’m also now curious now about the relationship between non-linear thinking and ADD. I have ADD and am without question a non-linear creative thinker as well as an artist. Go figure? Unlike many folks who have ADD however, I did not struggle in school and did well in science and research. By default I think non-linearly but have the ability to shift my thinking process linearly. Like Talisha’s earlier comments about seeing the whole picture first and then going back in and seeing it linearly switching back and forth to solve a problem. I also agree with her in that it is many times a much faster way at reaching a solution in that it allows you the freedom to change directions quickly and pull information in laterally at the same time. It becomes like juggling in that you can juggle a number of objects simultaneously and if you are good, many different sizes and shapes as well. From what I have learned about having ADD myself, this “gift” is something that appears in many of us who have it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I also strongly disagree with Jacaob Grahams comment about the 4:1 ratio in business. Give me 4:1 non linear thinkers to his 4:1 linear employees and productivity will increase and new idea’s (R & D) will skyrocket. All that will be required is a good consultant to come in one time and set things up. Oh, and the 1 out 4 linear thinking employee….he/she will work in quality control. LOL
After making my last post I found myself still thinking about this topic in my usual non-linear fashion…from every angle. I’m going to give a stab at some kind of gut comparison of the two types of thinking and how they relate to one another. Mathematics was never my strongest suit in school and as described in earlier post, depending on how it was taught and who was teaching it made all the difference in my ability to understand or not understand it. Having said this, for the last 5 years I have been working with CAD/CAM at work self teaching myself the process of milling prototypes and models from my CAD designs on a 3D milling machine. This learning process at first was daunting to me as I never took calculus and knew nothing about it or algorithms. What I discovered during this process was the relationship between algebra x and y, and calculus x,y and z or simply put 2 dimensions and 3 dimensions as stated in a mathematical equation . As I would stare at the milling machine going back and forth, up and down and all the while carving out my 3 dimensional design, this visual representation of algorithms being put into practice in a real physical sense was clearly easy for me to understand as I watched it happen. Seemingly all at once I realized what the term Linear meant in this application as well as 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional and how it applied to mathematics. (algebra and calculus) It was an epiphany which I was only able to see from a real visual demonstration but could never understand it before regardless of how it explained to me. It all seems so simple to me now however, it needed to be presented in it’s entirety and in a literal sense for me to be able to come to this understanding. All the texts books and teaching I had never made any sense to me before. Going back over the same material now seems remarkably easy to understand now in it’s basic form. I’m still no mathematician but I can follow it up to a point when it is explained to me. Is it possible that linear and non-linear thinking are not the opposite but an integral part of one another? And the whole of our thinking process contain both inextricably when you stand back and see them together from this conceptual stand point? Just say’in….. based on my experience.
Hi,
Great blog!
Someone pointed out that I’m a linear-type thinker. Based on the circumstances surrounding their comment, I decided to look into it and can see why the conclusion was made. There was an object on the wall at a school auditorium that looked like a clock to me. The event was to start at 2:00p.m. and the hands on the object resembled the hour/minute hands. I thought to myself that it was almost time to start, because the position of the hands appeared to be ten minutes before two. :~)
I agreed initially then started wondering if a person could be a combination of both types of reasoning. Seems like it could be a possibility. What’s your input on that idea?
I think the last year I heard it 3 times that I don’t think or learn right. When I was 6 that when the principal wanted to send me to a special school. When I was in 5th grade and transferred schools that made repeat a grade after never failing a class. I never thought there was anything wrong me…but somehow the world did. I was always told I was creative. I like that there are other people who have brains that like to play. I work in an high analytical field.
Some people might be more logical than others or be better able to focus better than others, but nobody thinks linear.
Its impossible to think linear because our perception of the world is vague and haphazard.
However we try to organize in a linear fashion because time progresses in a linear fashion. (As best as we can tell!) We cant help but behave linear because we can only perform actions according to the time sequence of our life
you actually cleared a doubt i have for so long. its like i knew that logical and non-logical thinking exists, i just couldn’t name them! Thanks
Given a theory: we use linear or non-linear thinking; as I read the comments, our minds are already using the explanatory frame to interpret. Every theory is like an eyeglass through which we see the world.
It is useful to start a dialogue on this topic but in order to understand better these two mental processes (they are not personality traits), we should gain more knowledge.
PS: as I know, syllogism is the creation of Aristotle not Socrates, and Socrates’ questioning method integrates linear and non-linear thinking as it is not chaotic, doesn’t lack logic but is flexible.