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problems and explains why we have done nothing about creativity.
    If an idea is 'logical' in hindsight, then we claim that it could have been obtained by 'logic' in the first place. So we do not need creativity because all such ideas should have been reached by logic.
    This is complete and perfect nonsense. In an asymmetric system what is obvious and logical in hindsight may be inaccessible in foresight.
    Because philosophers have been playing with words and not considered self-organising pattern-making systems they have not been able to see that obvious in hindsight is not at all obvious in foresight. That is why we have done nothing about creativity.
THERANDOM WORD TOOL FOR CREATIVITY
    This was the tool that generated over 20,000 new ideas for a steel company in a single afternoon from a workshop. I have chosen this lateral thinking tool first for a number of reasons.
    1. It seems totally illogical and unlikely to work.
2. It may be the easiest of the tools to use.
3. It is very powerful.
4. It is actually totally logical.
    Process
    You have your focus. You know where you want to generate new ideas.
    You then obtain a 'random word'. Nouns are easiest to use, so use a noun. You can obtain your random word in several ways.
    You may keep a list of 60 words on a card in your pocket. You then glance at your watch. If the second hand shows 27 seconds, you select word number 27 from your list.
    You could also choose a page number in a dictionary and then specify the tenth (or other) word down on that page. You continue downwards until you come to a noun. You could do this with any book with a page and line number.
    You could put words written on slips of paper into a bag and then pick one out.
    You could close your eyes and stab your finger at a page of a newspaper or book. You take the word nearest to your finger.
    All of these are practical ways of obtaining a random word. Once you have your random word, you then use this random word to generate ideas about the subject. This is a mental operation called 'movement' and quite different from 'judgement', which I describe elsewhere. The task is to use the random word to open up new lines of thinking. It is not a matter of finding a connection between the random word and the subject.
    Logic
    At first sight the process seems totally illogical. The essence of logic is that what comes next is relevant and

related to what is being considered. With the random word technique, what comes next is completely irrelevant and unrelated.
    If a random word is truly random then it will be equally related to any possible focus. Indeed, any random word will be related to any focus. Logicians would point out that this is complete nonsense. Yet it is totally logical – in the universe of asymmetric patterning systems. I shall explain the logic in more detail elsewhere, but here is a simple explanation.
    You live in a small town and when you leave home you always take the main road, which satisfies your travel needs. There are many side roads that you ignore. One day your car breaks down on the outskirts of the town and you have to walk home. You ask around for instructions. You find yourself arriving home by a route you have never taken before. You note that this is a much better way of getting to your favourite restaurant. The logic is simple. If you start from the centre, your path is determined by the pattern probabilities at that point – so you take the familiar route. If you have a different starting point at the periphery and make your way to the centre you open up a new route.
    Shaping
    Shaping is a broad term, which covers influencing, changing, concept transfer, effect, etc.
    You are trying to get some new ideas for a restaurant. You use the random-word technique. The word is 'cinema'.
    The shaping could be very direct. Diners could order a DVD player and earphones and watch a movie as they ate. Some couples have more need to eat than to talk.
    The shaping could be more indirect. Cinemas