0:00:24.415,0:00:27.200
Sometimes, easy means difficult.

0:00:27.200,0:00:30.520
Have you ever been assigned an easy task,

0:00:30.520,0:00:33.400
which for you is actually[br]very difficult to perform,

0:00:33.400,0:00:35.239
and maybe for nobody else?

0:00:35.680,0:00:38.600
That is when you experience frustration.

0:00:38.600,0:00:42.160
I have experienced that[br]when I started taking singing lessons,

0:00:42.160,0:00:45.440
and my teacher told me[br]to breathe with my diaphragm.

0:00:45.440,0:00:50.400
That's easy, it's our natural breath,[br]but actually very difficult to do,

0:00:50.400,0:00:53.690
and it's a secret of the great singers.

0:00:54.120,0:00:56.800
It's similar to what happens

0:00:56.800,0:01:01.360
when a boss comes into a meeting[br]and tells you to think out of the box.

0:01:01.360,0:01:04.280
Come on, give me your creative ideas.

0:01:04.280,0:01:07.250
Think out of the box. I want to hear that.

0:01:07.250,0:01:08.730
I need innovation.

0:01:09.160,0:01:12.400
Easy, simple, but actually[br]very hard to do.

0:01:12.400,0:01:13.920
You need to practice.

0:01:13.920,0:01:18.480
You need to know how to get[br]out of the box, where to go,

0:01:18.480,0:01:22.240
and how to come back inside the box,[br]because that's where we live.

0:01:22.240,0:01:24.360
We actually live inside our boxes.

0:01:24.360,0:01:26.660
I want to ask these questions.

0:01:26.660,0:01:28.840
I asked those questions to myself.

0:01:28.840,0:01:32.360
This presentation is a little journey[br]through my answers.

0:01:32.360,0:01:35.520
I hope that some of these[br]will resonate with yours.

0:01:35.520,0:01:37.920
The first thing is to ask, why.

0:01:37.920,0:01:40.920
Why should you really go out of the box?

0:01:40.920,0:01:43.350
Because inside the box, we feel safe.

0:01:43.850,0:01:46.330
We agree with everybody else.

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And when we go out,[br]we risk our reputation.

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We worked so hard[br]for a lifetime to build it up,

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why should we risk it?

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Is this something which is a luxury,[br]that only a few people can do,

0:02:01.760,0:02:03.920
or is it really a necessity?

0:02:03.920,0:02:05.080
Why?

0:02:05.080,0:02:07.000
Think of our lives today.

0:02:07.000,0:02:09.600
We are really a part of a network.

0:02:09.600,0:02:11.760
We are nodes in a network.

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We share information in a real time,

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and we, in the end,[br]all possess the same information.

0:02:19.640,0:02:24.200
That's the end of it,[br]and that is a scary thought.

0:02:24.200,0:02:27.120
If we all possess the same information,

0:02:27.120,0:02:29.470
what makes a difference between ourselves?

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Where does our dignity[br]as human beings lie?

0:02:34.800,0:02:40.701
It really depends on what we generate[br]with that common shared information.

0:02:41.903,0:02:46.520
To think creatively, to go out[br]of the box, is not a luxury.

0:02:46.520,0:02:51.560
It's a necessity for us,[br]and for our dignity as human beings.

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Which box are we talking about?

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We must have a clear definition,

0:02:56.240,0:02:58.920
so that we are really talking[br]about something specific.

0:02:59.760,0:03:03.230
It's not our mind;[br]we cannot think out of our minds.

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It's a boundary within our minds.

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The boundary between what we know,

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and what we haven't still,[br]or yet, thought about.

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What is our mind?

0:03:15.840,0:03:17.560
What is our knowledge structure?

0:03:17.560,0:03:21.840
It's an emergent phenomenon[br]out of the complex mechanism,

0:03:21.840,0:03:23.360
which is the brain.

0:03:24.210,0:03:28.240
We start with initial conditions,[br]our genetic heritage.

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We have boundary conditions,[br]the environment.

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We have indirect experience,

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years and years spent[br]in school and University

0:03:37.240,0:03:39.720
to learn what other people have thought,

0:03:39.720,0:03:41.443
what other people have discovered,

0:03:41.443,0:03:42.920
what other people have created.

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Then, we have our own direct experience,

0:03:45.760,0:03:50.160
our successes, our failures[br]that really make what we are.

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All of this builds the anthill[br]within which we live,

0:03:54.920,0:03:57.440
and we live very well in that.

0:03:57.440,0:04:02.400
Whatever we think inside that anthill,[br]that box, we feel safe.

0:04:03.360,0:04:06.000
Whatever is outside, it's invisible to us.

0:04:06.000,0:04:08.400
We don't know what it's outside.

0:04:08.400,0:04:12.511
That is why it's so risky,[br]because nobody else knows.

0:04:14.396,0:04:17.680
We are faced with something[br]which is necessary to our dignity,

0:04:18.464,0:04:20.760
but actually it's very difficult to do.

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How do we go out of the box?[br]How do we do that?

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What are the mechanisms?

0:04:26.360,0:04:30.800
Do we need to wait for an apple[br]to fall on our heads,

0:04:30.800,0:04:34.040
or are there some specific techniques?

0:04:34.040,0:04:37.200
Reality is out there[br]for us to perceive it.

0:04:37.200,0:04:40.000
It's beautiful. You see these flowers.

0:04:40.000,0:04:44.960
We have a lot of ideas,[br]which is our convergent information,

0:04:44.960,0:04:46.680
the dominant ideas.

0:04:46.680,0:04:50.720
Whenever we need to think[br]about an area, a focused area,

0:04:50.720,0:04:53.560
we have ideas on how things should be.

0:04:53.560,0:04:56.840
We have requirements,[br]we have specifications.

0:04:56.840,0:04:58.960
We know how things are,

0:04:58.960,0:05:01.840
because that's the way[br]they always have been.

0:05:02.560,0:05:04.320
But if we want to go out of the box,

0:05:04.320,0:05:08.040
we need to add something more,[br]a little spice,

0:05:08.040,0:05:11.920
something which goes beyond[br]the convergent information.

0:05:11.920,0:05:15.400
Something wrong, something absurd,

0:05:15.400,0:05:18.320
something which apparently[br]is not relevant,

0:05:18.320,0:05:20.920
something which takes us far.

0:05:20.920,0:05:24.280
This is what we call[br]divergent information.

0:05:24.280,0:05:28.000
We need a little bit[br]of that divergent information

0:05:28.000,0:05:31.280
to cross the borders within our minds,

0:05:31.280,0:05:35.320
from what we know[br]to what we haven't yet thought about.

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This is the essential mechanism[br]that is necessary,

0:05:40.440,0:05:44.880
and it takes us to a place[br]where we don't really know where to go.

0:05:45.440,0:05:47.120
We are suspended.

0:05:47.120,0:05:49.760
It's like the middle game in chess.

0:05:49.760,0:05:52.440
Where do you go[br]once you're out of the box?

0:05:52.440,0:05:55.407
You have no preset direction.

0:05:55.880,0:05:59.383
It's really a potential situation

0:05:59.710,0:06:04.720
that brings us to a feeling[br]that we should immediately go back.

0:06:04.720,0:06:06.400
This does not make any sense.

0:06:06.400,0:06:10.760
Let's go back to safe place.[br]Let's go back inside the box.

0:06:10.760,0:06:14.520
That's a temptation[br]that we need to resist.

0:06:15.433,0:06:18.920
We need to value long thinking.

0:06:18.920,0:06:21.840
Normally,[br]we talk about brilliant thinking,

0:06:21.840,0:06:24.600
fast thinking, deep thinking,

0:06:24.600,0:06:27.020
but here we're talking[br]about something different,

0:06:27.020,0:06:28.800
long thinking.

0:06:28.800,0:06:30.240
What does that mean?

0:06:30.240,0:06:34.000
It's some thought that takes us far.

0:06:34.000,0:06:37.680
It's as if you were reading poetry[br]or listening to music.

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You don't judge the single notes.

0:06:40.740,0:06:43.200
You don't judge the single words.

0:06:43.200,0:06:48.000
It's the ensemble that gives you[br]a feeling, and takes you far.

0:06:48.000,0:06:51.760
We must do the same thing[br]with our concepts.

0:06:51.760,0:06:53.320
We need to go far.

0:06:54.200,0:06:57.360
We can use association of ideas,

0:06:57.360,0:07:01.320
combination of ideas,[br]extraction of principles,

0:07:01.320,0:07:03.520
and application of those principles

0:07:03.520,0:07:06.560
to areas where they were[br]never applied before.

0:07:06.560,0:07:10.880
We need to be open-minded.[br]We need to be fluent.

0:07:10.880,0:07:14.748
Look for alternatives,[br]and not for the correct answer.

0:07:15.990,0:07:20.160
Because when you think creatively,[br]there's no single correct answer.

0:07:20.160,0:07:23.000
There are many possible alternatives.

0:07:23.852,0:07:25.480
Suppose now that we are lucky.

0:07:25.480,0:07:28.721
We land upon a new idea in our travel,

0:07:29.320,0:07:31.990
in the exploration out of the box.

0:07:31.990,0:07:34.120
What is the value of that?

0:07:34.120,0:07:37.240
How do we assess the value of a new idea?

0:07:37.240,0:07:42.000
It's very difficult if it's really new,[br]because you've never seen that before.

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Nobody else has seen that before.

0:07:44.600,0:07:50.880
It's as if we landed on a new planet,[br]totally undiscovered territory.

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It's difficult to understand[br]the value of something new.

0:07:54.800,0:07:59.040
First of all, because we don't feel[br]entitled to be inventors.

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Who am I to be the generator[br]of that new idea?

0:08:02.520,0:08:05.840
Probably this has been[br]thought about before.

0:08:05.840,0:08:10.000
If this is correct, somebody else[br]would have done it before me.

0:08:10.000,0:08:15.320
These are all natural mechanisms[br]with which we kill our own ideas.

0:08:15.320,0:08:16.960
We have to resist that.

0:08:17.350,0:08:21.600
We have to look for the match[br]between the new idea

0:08:21.600,0:08:24.280
and our initial drive, our initial focus,

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or evaluate the idea per se,[br]for its own value

0:08:29.480,0:08:33.520
and maybe see that that's something[br]that solves another problem,

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which it was not yours.

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Serendipity happens all the time.

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We just need to have the eyes to see that,

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to notice the difference.

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Ok, but we are social animals.

0:08:48.080,0:08:49.360
We live in an environment,

0:08:49.360,0:08:52.040
so to think out of the box,[br]bring in new ideas,

0:08:52.040,0:08:54.460
is going to challenge that environment.

0:08:54.460,0:08:59.120
When is it a good idea[br]to challenge everybody around you

0:08:59.120,0:09:00.760
in your working environment?

0:09:01.210,0:09:02.280
You have a boss.

0:09:02.280,0:09:05.000
You don't really want to upset him or her.

0:09:05.000,0:09:08.280
When is it a good idea[br]to think out of the box?

0:09:08.280,0:09:13.560
First of all, if the environment[br]punishes mistakes,

0:09:13.560,0:09:17.320
you will never be really tempted[br]to go out of the box.

0:09:17.320,0:09:21.270
You will remain safely[br]in a known environment.

0:09:21.880,0:09:25.880
If you want to stimulate[br]an environment which is creative,

0:09:25.880,0:09:31.200
you need to allow the existence[br]of divergent information.

0:09:31.200,0:09:35.080
You need to allow[br]irrelevant information to come in.

0:09:35.080,0:09:38.120
You have to mix and match[br]different disciplines.

0:09:38.120,0:09:41.680
You have to use metaphors[br]in the organization.

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Only in that case,[br]you will allow the environment

0:09:46.020,0:09:50.258
to be really prone[br]to the generation of new ideas.

0:09:51.660,0:09:55.080
I want to end my talk[br]with a little experiment.

0:09:55.080,0:09:57.160
We wanted to do this[br]interactively with you,

0:09:57.160,0:09:58.800
but the time is scarce.

0:09:58.800,0:10:01.600
I have indeed prepared a little thing,

0:10:01.600,0:10:04.600
but if you believe me, and to be honest,

0:10:04.600,0:10:07.840
this has been generated[br]in the space of few minutes.

0:10:07.840,0:10:11.960
The generation of ideas,[br]this travel outside of the box,

0:10:11.960,0:10:14.240
is something which happens very fast.

0:10:14.240,0:10:16.720
Where should we experiment?

0:10:16.720,0:10:22.360
Let's say that we want to generate[br]new ideas about TEDx Conferences.

0:10:22.360,0:10:26.880
We are here, so that's a focused area[br]which is very clear to all of us.

0:10:27.800,0:10:33.600
Let's start from the convergent[br]information about TEDx Conferences.

0:10:33.600,0:10:38.920
What is needed to make[br]an excellent, good TEDx conference?

0:10:38.920,0:10:42.400
You need the brilliant speakers[br]that will come up.

0:10:42.400,0:10:45.520
You need an excellent theme.

0:10:46.660,0:10:51.080
You need fast[br]speaker to speaker transitions.

0:10:51.360,0:10:53.880
You need grand settings.

0:10:53.880,0:11:00.080
The list can go on, and all I'm saying[br]is things that you already know.

0:11:00.080,0:11:02.960
This is all convergent information, safe.

0:11:02.960,0:11:06.920
I'm not generating anything new.[br]I'm inside the box.

0:11:06.920,0:11:08.920
Now I want to go out,

0:11:08.920,0:11:11.697
so I apply a divergent modifier

0:11:12.280,0:11:15.280
to any of these convergent elements.

0:11:15.480,0:11:18.280
Start from the last one for example,[br]the grand setting.

0:11:19.232,0:11:22.520
A divergent modifier,[br]for example, is to exaggerate.

0:11:22.520,0:11:24.240
Bring it to the limit.

0:11:24.240,0:11:28.600
Instead of thinking[br]of a TEDx conferences in a theater,

0:11:28.600,0:11:31.560
think of a TEDx Conference in a stadium.

0:11:32.360,0:11:34.960
Does this make any sense, in a stadium?

0:11:34.960,0:11:38.280
Very difficult to organize,[br]even more difficult than in a theater,

0:11:38.280,0:11:40.920
and how do you fill the place?

0:11:40.920,0:11:42.400
How do you fill the stadium?

0:11:42.400,0:11:45.200
It's too difficult.[br]It doesn't make any sense.

0:11:45.200,0:11:48.040
I'm tempted to reject that idea.

0:11:48.040,0:11:50.760
But then I move, and I say,

0:11:50.760,0:11:54.880
ok, maybe the stadium[br]is already filled with people.

0:11:54.880,0:11:57.760
From that, you can get the idea

0:11:57.760,0:12:03.240
of having a TEDx Conference[br]at half-time of football matches,

0:12:03.240,0:12:09.840
a network of speeches which happens[br]at half-time of football matches.

0:12:09.840,0:12:13.600
Good idea, bad idea?[br]I leave it for you to assess.

0:12:13.600,0:12:17.320
Take another element:[br]good speakers, brilliant speakers.

0:12:17.320,0:12:20.760
That's the most fundamental element[br]of a TEDx Conference.

0:12:20.760,0:12:22.240
Let's take that away.

0:12:22.240,0:12:25.480
We eliminate the good, brilliant speakers.

0:12:26.590,0:12:30.720
Does this make any sense?[br]No, we're out of the box.

0:12:30.720,0:12:33.760
Does this lead to anything useful?

0:12:33.760,0:12:37.160
I could say that,[br]OK, I don't need the speakers,

0:12:37.160,0:12:41.200
but I need the speeches,[br]the talks, the scripts.

0:12:41.200,0:12:43.280
From this comes the idea

0:12:43.280,0:12:48.400
of one speaker delivering[br]the speech of somebody else.

0:12:48.400,0:12:50.460
We exchange speakers.

0:12:50.920,0:12:54.320
So it's a cooperative TEDx Conference.

0:12:54.320,0:12:58.000
Maybe we have duets on stage,[br]instead of a single element,

0:12:58.000,0:13:02.400
or we have people that speak about,

0:13:02.400,0:13:03.760
somebody has this topic.

0:13:03.760,0:13:06.280
In that way we have[br]one advantage at least.

0:13:06.280,0:13:08.960
We take away the element of the ego.

0:13:08.960,0:13:10.280
There's no ego anymore,

0:13:10.280,0:13:13.360
if you're speaking[br]with somebody else's script.

0:13:13.360,0:13:16.400
These are just examples, just examples,

0:13:16.400,0:13:20.960
to show you that it's possible[br]and not too hard, actually,

0:13:20.960,0:13:22.680
to think out of the box.

0:13:22.680,0:13:26.440
I hope this journey, in a way,[br]was interesting for you,

0:13:26.440,0:13:29.042
and now you want to do more of that.

0:13:29.042,0:13:31.390
Thank you very much for your attention.

0:13:31.390,0:13:34.418
(Applause)