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CoRT Thinking Tools
©Edward de Bono, used by permission of Peter de Bono

About CoRT Thinking Activities

Edward de Bono, cognitive researcher, proponent of lateral thinking and advocate of the teaching of thinking as a skill, has graciously permitted IDEELS to include five thinking lessons from his Cognitive Research Trust Thinking Course (©Edward de Bono) on the IDEELS web site. More information on de Bono's work, including an archive of provocative articles on thinking and links to an online bookseller where his books and videos can be purchased, can be found on his web site: http://www.edwdebono.com/. Information on teaching and working with the CoRT tools is available on the IDEELS web site and in Appendix C of this manual. Here is a brief overview of the tools:

PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) (©Edward de Bono) is a tool that permits the non-dialectic exploration of an idea by adding a third, value-free category to the usual "pro and con" approach to decision making. Instead of looking for points to knock down the others' assertions, everyone looks in the same direction at the same time and tries to list as many positive points, then as many negative points, and then as many interesting points.

CAF (Consider All Factors) (©Edward de Bono) is a tool that crystallizes the process of trying to consider all the factors in a given situation. It is a useful preliminary to action, decision-making, planning, judgement and coming to a conclusion.

C & S (Consequence and Sequel) (©Edward de Bono) is a tool for looking ahead to see the short, medium and long-term consequences of an action, plan, decision, rule, invention, etc.

APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) (©Edward de Bono) crystallizes the process of deliberately trying to find alternatives.

OPV (Other People's Views) (©Edward de Bono) focusses on the other people involved. The idea is to consciously and deliberately look at other people's viewpoints to better assess the impact of a proposed plan, decision, rule, action, etc.

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