Chapter 3 – Divergent Thinking
"My favorite example would be from Monty Python's Flying Circus when they would transition to an absurd bit by saying: 'And now, for something completely different...." Robb Lightfoot
Divergent thinking is the ability to generate multiple ideas, possibilities, or interpretations. It’s the heart of creative expansion.
What Divergent Thinking Looks Like
- brainstorming
- freewriting
- mind‑mapping
- improvisation
- playful experimentation
Why Divergence Matters
"One way of describing a boring day is to say: 'The same old same old.' If nothing else, people expecting entertainment, and even enlightenment, want to be taken into new territory. And, if you make it a point to try something different, even off-the-wall, you treat yourself to an open-ended adventure! Look at the list above and you'll notice that most of these suggestions appear time and again in books on generating novel ideas. Almost all are solitary activities with the exception of improvisation. For that reason, I would suggest you try improv. It will force you to confront the unexpected in the form of oddball ideas being thrown at you by others. Professional comedy writing usually happens in a team environment because many heads are better than being beheaded, or something like that." Robb Lightfoot
Divergent thinking:
- increases idea volume
- reduces creative inhibition
- encourages risk‑taking
- expands perspective
Common Blocks
- self‑criticism
- fear of looking foolish
- over‑editing
- rigid thinking
Strengthening Divergence
Practice:
- quantity over quality
- playful constraints
- rapid idea generation
- reframing problems
"If there's one to learn from the above, it is that there is a paradox to creativity. Usually, we think that producing more content, rapidly, will lower quality. This is just dead wrong. Writing a lot, and doing so rapidly, can really open up insights that would not have occurred to you. It removes filters and inhibitions, and in a woo-woo way, is a kind of magic to see your brain produce things that seem to come from somewhere beyond your own experience. Yes, you'll have cringeworthy stuff. But you can toss that. Trust me, there will be gems in there that just take your breath away. But you have to put your butt in a seat, unless you're doing improv, and crank out the copy with a keyboard or microphone or sketchpad. Save it all. Return to it later if you must, but make it a point to create something every day, without fail. Soon you'll have something worthwhile on your hands. If not, you can wash them." Robb Lightfoot
#humorlab #thehumorlab
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Divergent thinking is the ability to generate multiple ideas, possibilities, or interpretations. It’s the heart of creative expansion.
What Divergent Thinking Looks Like
- brainstorming
- freewriting
- mind‑mapping
- improvisation
- playful experimentation
Why Divergence Matters
"One way of describing a boring day is to say: 'The same old same old.' If nothing else, people expecting entertainment, and even enlightenment, want to be taken into new territory. And, if you make it a point to try something different, even off-the-wall, you treat yourself to an open-ended adventure! Look at the list above and you'll notice that most of these suggestions appear time and again in books on generating novel ideas. Almost all are solitary activities with the exception of improvisation. For that reason, I would suggest you try improv. It will force you to confront the unexpected in the form of oddball ideas being thrown at you by others. Professional comedy writing usually happens in a team environment because many heads are better than being beheaded, or something like that." Robb Lightfoot
Divergent thinking:
- increases idea volume
- reduces creative inhibition
- encourages risk‑taking
- expands perspective
Common Blocks
- self‑criticism
- fear of looking foolish
- over‑editing
- rigid thinking
Strengthening Divergence
Practice:
- quantity over quality
- playful constraints
- rapid idea generation
- reframing problems
"If there's one to learn from the above, it is that there is a paradox to creativity. Usually, we think that producing more content, rapidly, will lower quality. This is just dead wrong. Writing a lot, and doing so rapidly, can really open up insights that would not have occurred to you. It removes filters and inhibitions, and in a woo-woo way, is a kind of magic to see your brain produce things that seem to come from somewhere beyond your own experience. Yes, you'll have cringeworthy stuff. But you can toss that. Trust me, there will be gems in there that just take your breath away. But you have to put your butt in a seat, unless you're doing improv, and crank out the copy with a keyboard or microphone or sketchpad. Save it all. Return to it later if you must, but make it a point to create something every day, without fail. Soon you'll have something worthwhile on your hands. If not, you can wash them." Robb Lightfoot
#humorlab #thehumorlab
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Some fun snippets from our contributors:
#humorlab #thehumorlab
