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CHAPTER
21
“O” Is for Omit Either/Or Thinking
Evolution always transcends and includes, incorporates and goes
beyond.
—Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything
(Shambala 1996)Omit “either/or” thinking. This technique for increasing creativ-
ity is related to the notion of discomfort in Chapter 20. Our culture
thrives on black-and-white solutions. We love movies like Star
Wars that pit Good against Evil. We like political scenarios that
cast the United States in a saintly white glow, while Russia and
Iraq are shown in devilish black. We drool over courtroom dra-
mas that have clear decisions. O.J. is innocent and walks. Nixon
is guilty and goes down. We like sports with clear winners and
sudden-death playoffs in the event of ties.
The technique discussed in this chapter involves a different
approach. It involves the ability to hold the tension of the oppo-
sites, to accept that discomfort, and to wait until a third possibil-
ity emerges. This is the concept of the Hegelian dialectic: two
opposing points of view that merge into a synthesis which pro-
duces a better solution than either point alone. Steven Covey, in14-25 ware 185 1/19/01, 1:15 PM