Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Think outside of "Think outside the box"

Have you noticed how popular the expression "Think outside the box" has become?

It strikes me as amusing and ironic that the phrase which originated as an expression advocating lateral thought and creativity has itself become another glib cliché, falling victim to narrow thinking and half-baked slogans. It's one of the most over-used expressions of our time! We need to think outside the box of "think outside the box!" Maybe a good alternative might be:

"Ponder outside the planet."

or

"Hypothesize outside the hyperbola."

maybe

"Consider outside the cliché."

Add your own suggestions to the comments section under this post! Let's see what we can come up with when we think outside the... no, wait... when we employ some lateral thought!

(Of course, don't feel bound to the "x outside the y." formula here. This is all about being different, after all!)

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