Thread: Thinking Course - A book by 'Edward De Bono'

I looked up lateral thinking. This is fun:


One of the most famous situation puzzles is told similar to this:

A man walks into a bar, and asks the bartender for a drink of water. The bartender pulls out a gun, points it at the man, and cocks it. The man says "Thank you" and leaves. What happened?

Spoiler for Leads:

The question and answer segment might go something like this.

1. Question: Could the bartender hear him? Answer: Yes
2. Question: Was the bartender angry for some reason? A: No
3. Question: Was the gun a water pistol? A: No
4. Question: Did they know each other from before? A: No (or: "irrelevant" since either way it does not affect the outcome)
5. Question: Was the man's "Thank you" sarcastic? A: No (or with a small hint: "No, he was genuinely grateful for some reason")
6. Question: Did the man ask for water in an offensive way? A: No
7. Question: Did the man ask for water in some strange way? A: Yes

Spoiler for Answer:

Eventually the questions lead up to the conclusion that the man had the hiccups, and that his reason for requesting a drink of water was not to quench his thirst but to cure his hiccups. The bartender realized this and chose instead to cure the hiccups by frightening the man with the gun. Once the man realized that his hiccups were gone, he no longer needed a drink of water, gratefully thanked the bartender, and left.

Originally Posted by Specialis Sapientia

I looked up lateral thinking. This is fun:


One of the most famous situation puzzles is told similar to this:

A man walks into a bar, and asks the bartender for a drink of water. The bartender pulls out a gun, points it at the man, and cocks it. The man says "Thank you" and leaves. What happened?

Spoiler for Leads:

The question and answer segment might go something like this.

1. Question: Could the bartender hear him? Answer: Yes
2. Question: Was the bartender angry for some reason? A: No
3. Question: Was the gun a water pistol? A: No
4. Question: Did they know each other from before? A: No (or: "irrelevant" since either way it does not affect the outcome)
5. Question: Was the man's "Thank you" sarcastic? A: No (or with a small hint: "No, he was genuinely grateful for some reason")
6. Question: Did the man ask for water in an offensive way? A: No
7. Question: Did the man ask for water in some strange way? A: Yes

Spoiler for Answer:

Eventually the questions lead up to the conclusion that the man had the hiccups, and that his reason for requesting a drink of water was not to quench his thirst but to cure his hiccups. The bartender realized this and chose instead to cure the hiccups by frightening the man with the gun. Once the man realized that his hiccups were gone, he no longer needed a drink of water, gratefully thanked the bartender, and left.

Haha, thats amazing! I seriously can't wait till the book gets here. Delivery takes 3-4 days, ordered it this morning.

Whoa, try this one:


A man lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator -- or if it was raining that day -- he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the tenth floor and walks up two flights of stairs to his apartment.

Spoiler for The answer:

The man is a dwarf. He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his umbrella.

This one is wicked..

A man goes into a restaurant, orders albatross, eats one bite, and kills himself.

Spoiler for The answer:

The man, his wife, and a second man were in a ship that was wrecked on a desert island. The man's wife died in the wreck. When there was no food left, the second man brought what he said was an albatross but was really part of the dead wife. Later they were rescued, and at some point, the first man decides to order albatross at a restaurant. It tastes nothing like what he was told was albatross on the island, which makes him realize he really ate his wife. Unable to cope with the realization, he kills himself.

Originally Posted by Specialis Sapientia

Whoa, try this one:


A man lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator -- or if it was raining that day -- he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the tenth floor and walks up two flights of stairs to his apartment.

Spoiler for The answer:

The man is a dwarf. He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his umbrella.

This one is wicked..

A man goes into a restaurant, orders albatross, eats one bite, and kills himself.

Spoiler for The answer:

The man, his wife, and a second man were in a ship that was wrecked on a desert island. The man's wife died in the wreck. When there was no food left, the second man brought what he said was an albatross but was really part of the dead wife. Later they were rescued, and at some point, the first man decides to order albatross at a restaurant. It tastes nothing like what he was told was albatross on the island, which makes him realize he really ate his wife. Unable to cope with the realization, he kills himself.

Holy.. fucking.. shit.

Thats amazing.

Although the last one is a bit... far fetched. I can't wait till it arrives.

I haven;t read it, but I just ordered it from the library. I do think I've heard all of those questions before, but maybe it's just the fact that I haven't slept.

When I was in 7th grade our science teacher would read things like this to us at the end of the day if we had time and we would be in groups and have to figure it out. I've heard the first two before...

The book you're getting sounds pretty cool.