Five-Day Course in Thinking

by Edward de Bono

First published in 1967, this remarkable title from one of history’s greatest minds remains a must-read in the world of creative thinking.

Based on the tenet that an error can lead to the right decision, de Bono guides the reader through a series of non-mathematical problems and puzzles, all designed to help us analyse our personal style of thinking, work out its strengths and weaknesses, and to consider the potential methods that we never use.

There are three courses, each five days long and each created to focus on a different style of thinking, featuring:

The Bottles Problem
The Blocks Problem
The L-Game
The End Game

A true life-changer, this book will have you thinking in ways that you never thought were possible.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Management, Brain

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Edward de Bono was a Maltese physician, author, inventor, and consultant. He is best known as the originator of the term lateral thinking (structured creativity) and the leading proponent of the deliberate teaching of thinking in schools.

Reviews

[Ali Al-Birminghami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five nice puzzles to get you thinking about thinking.

[Paul Bard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I think the actual game attached to this book is missing from the copy I read, so it seems to simply be a series of abstract explorations rather than a fun game.

I wish I could give this a higher rating.

Essentially it is all about exploration of new ideas and not about exploiting valuable ideas, which, from my pragmatic perspective, was frustrating.

[Michael Wolcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and helpful read with experiments to showcase how our critical thinking processes develop. A really useful tool for someone to consider how to teach about metacognition and thinking. Excellent resource.

[Steve Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in the early 70s, and attended a lecture by Edward de Bono 1971 at Maria Grey College of Education. It is probably one of the most significant books I have read, an fundamentally changed my approach to teaching. Thinking is the key to education.

[Thuthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good exercises

[Srinivasan Nanduri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good practical approach to understanding the 3 different thinking styles - insight, sequential and strategic.

[Printed Pages and Coffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting read in terms of analytical thinking, and reflection on how one thinks.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

READ FEB 2023

Nice piece in the collection of de Bono's thinking series.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun book.

There are many books that will go on talking about thinking and psychology until you feel like banging your head against a wall, but this one brings the problems into the physical world.

I'd wake up in the morning, and over a cup of tea I'd sit playing with glasses and butter-knives (Much as I would in a restaurant) and cackle gleefully when I got things right. And then when someone comes up and asks what you're doing, you don't reply "Playing with knives" you can say "studying my thought process and problem solving abilities... why? Did you think I was just messing around?"

I'd really love a series of books to come out with similar problems. I think they would be great fun for children, and they're certainly more entertaining then Suduko

[Ashutosh Upadhyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice book. The books helps me to understand my thinking patterns.