Synectics is a form of searching for new ideas with the help of analogies. The analogy is direct

Synectics.

1. How can you "magically" remove the weapon of crime - a bullet in a detective novel?

2. Traveling on the dark side of the moon requires lighting lamps. What fantastic designs can you offer?

In the mid 50s. William Gordon (USA) proposed a new method for finding creative solutions - synectics. Translated from Greek, this word means "combination of heterogeneous elements."

Synectics is based on brainstorming. But for synectics, permanent groups of people are formed (the optimal composition is 5-7 people) of various specialties with mandatory preliminary training. Sinector after training may well bear the title of "professional generator of new ideas."

We list some of the qualities of a sinector: the ability to abstract, mentally separate from the subject of discussion; rich fantasy; the ability to switch, move away from obsessive ideas; the habit of finding the unusual in the ordinary and the ordinary in the unusual; associative thinking; tolerant attitude towards ideas expressed by comrades; erudition, broad outlook.

Synectors use analogies in their work.

Analogy - similarity, correspondence of two objects (phenomena) in some properties or relationships. In mathematics, by analogy, for example, the similarity of triangles and angles is proved; in physics, the structure of the atom is presented by analogy with the structure of the solar system; in technology, many objects are built by analogy with biological objects. Skillful use of analogies allows you to cover a huge number of objects, compare them with those under study, find something similar and use it in solving problems.

The essence of the method- finding a solution that is close in essence by successively finding analogues (similarity) in various fields of knowledge or studying the action (behavior) of an object in changed conditions, up to fantastic ones.

Thus, synectics is a brainstorming exercise conducted using analogies. The types of analogies and the action of the sinector will be represented schematically.

Direct analogy . The considered object (process) is compared with a similar one from another field of technology or from wildlife to find a sample solution.

For example, given a problem: a mixture of iron ore particles with water moves along a pipeline - pulp. The damper that regulates this flow is very quickly erased, and in order to replace it, you have to stop the process. How to make a damper permanent?

The synectic group, in their search, will consider how plant stems, in particular tree trunks, are protected from environmental influences; how the esophagus of animals eating "prickly" food is arranged, etc. Something similar can be used to protect the damper from friction and abrasion.

Personal analogy (empathy). The sinector imagines himself to be a technical object (for example, an airplane, a lunar rover) and tries to realize how he would act in given circumstances. This is how the actors “immerse themselves” in the image of their hero, live by his feelings, thoughts, sensations.

Imagine ourselves as a barrier, we would first begin to dodge blows, and then we would pick up a shield in order to repel ore particles. This image contains the key to the solution. In real practice, the damper was magnetized, and it, like armor, was covered with ore particles. This layer was constantly worn away by friction, but was again replaced by new particles captured by the magnetic field of the damper.

Symbolic analogy . It is required to define the object (concept) in a paradoxical, metaphorical form, highlighting its essence. The definition should consist of two words (usually an adjective and a noun), where one word contradicts the content of the other, i.e. the connection between words should contain something unexpected, surprising (see table).

Defined concept	Definition
Cigarette	solid smoke
Fan	Harsh wind, table draft, frozen whirlwind
Solution	Weighted confusion
Book	Silent narrator, private dialogue
Flame	Apparent warmth
Cloud	Light heaviness, airy water, opaque emptiness
Strength	Forced Integrity
Grinding wheel	Precise roughness

So, in order to prevent wear of the damper from the pulp in the process of searching for a figurative characteristic of the protection of the process, the following metaphors were proposed: living armor, invisible chain mail, growing shell. The last analogy suggested a technical solution: supply a cooling agent to the damper in order to protect it with a layer of growing ice.

Fantastic analogy . It is necessary to present the variable object as we would like to see it in the ideal case, without taking into account the existing limitations and possibilities (availability of energy sources, necessary conditions, physical laws, etc.). After formulating a fantastic analogy, it is necessary to find out what prevents the found solution from being transferred to real conditions and try to get around this obstacle.

Examples. The German astronomer I. Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, likened the attraction of celestial bodies to mutual love. He compared the sun, planets and stars with various forms of God. These comparisons led Kepler to the idea of ​​introducing the concept of force (gravity) into astronomy.

In the 17th century the movement of blood in the body was compared with the tides of the sea. The English physician and physiologist W. Harvey introduced a new analogy - a pump - and came to the fundamental idea of ​​continuous blood circulation.

The course of solving the synectic problem.

1. Synectors clarify and formulate the problem as it is given (PKD). A feature of this stage is that no one, except the leader, is initiated into the specific conditions of the task. It is believed that the premature concrete formulation of the problem makes it difficult to abstract, does not allow you to get away from the usual way of thinking.

2. Synectors formulate the problem as it is understood (PKP). Consider turning an unfamiliar and unfamiliar problem into a series of more common tasks. Essentially, at this stage, the problem is broken down into sub-problems.

3. Generation (promotion and accumulation) of ideas is underway. Excursions begin in the most diverse areas of technology, nature, and psychology in order to identify how similar problems are solved in these areas that are far from this task. In this case, all kinds of analogies are used.

4. The ideas identified at the generation stage are translated into the PKD and PKP. At this stage, a critical evaluation of ideas, consultations with specialists, and experiments are carried out.

Synectics, synectors, qualities of synectors, association, analogy, direct analogy, personal analogy (empathy), symbolic analogy, fantastic analogy, PKD, PKP.

Practical work

The class is divided into groups of 4-5 people. Each group within 5 minutes must come up with and write down the largest number of symbolic analogies (metaphors) for one of the objects (board, clock, book, map, window).

Each group within 5-7 minutes should find and write down the largest number of examples of use in the technique of analogy.

2. Task "Ballast".

Under the conditions of Siberia, the railway embankment is laid on soil with permafrost, which thaws in the summer from above by 40-50 cm. During the autumn rains, the embankment is completely saturated with moisture. In the European part of the country, where there is no permafrost, most of the moisture from the embankment goes into the ground, only an insignificant part of the moisture remains in the embankment. In Siberia, moisture has nowhere to go, and it remains in the embankment. In winter, with the onset of frost, the moisture freezes, expands in volume and swells the railway track. The normal functioning of the railway is disrupted. How to be?

Find the answer using the “personal analogy” technique (imagine yourself as the soil of an embankment).

Another extraordinary way of generating ideas, along with techniques such as brainstorming and Edward De Bono's six hat method is the method of synectics. The synectics method is applied to solve problems and find new ideas through the use of analogies and the transfer of your tasks to ready-made solutions that exist in various fields and areas. Synectics is a combination of heterogeneous, and sometimes even incompatible elements in the process of setting and solving problems.

To more intelligibly explain the essence of this method, we can refer to the example of its application by the founder of synectics, William Gordon, who used it when creating Pringles chips.

Kellogg (a well-known American manufacturer of breakfast cereals) faced an impossible task - how to make and package potato chips in order to reduce the amount of air filled into the package, while making it more compact and avoiding product crumbling. To solve this problem, William Gordon was involved, who in 1961 wrote his famous book - Synectics: the Development of Creative Imagination, and a little later created a company - Synectics Inc., which teaches creative thinking and provides services for the development of innovative ideas (today the company's clients corporations such as IBM, General Electric, Zinger and many others). As an analogy, to create new chips, Gordon chose the process of laying fallen leaves in a plastic bag. If the leaves placed in the bag are dry, certain difficulties arise - they break and scatter, and when the leaves are wet, they are soft and easily take the form of a neighboring sheet. If you remove the leaves after rain, you will need few garbage bags, because damp leaves leave much less air between themselves and are packed more compactly. This analogy gave rise to Pringles chips - shaping and wetting dry potato flour helped solve the problem with their packaging.

Appeared in the early 50s of the last century as a result of many years of work by William Gordon on the improvement brainstorming method. An important distinguishing feature of the method we are considering today is that the synectics method is used to solve specific problems and is not aimed at using the objective laws of development of various systems. And a more or less trained and permanent group of trained specialists should work on its application (despite this, an ordinary person, having familiarized himself with the techniques of synectics, will be able to adopt some techniques to solve some of his problems and tasks). In this sense, synectics is a professional activity, and brainstorming is only a collective amateur activity. It is also worth noting that, unlike brainstorming, criticism is allowed in synectics. And, of course, the main feature is the essence of the synectics method - the use of comparisons and analogies. By focusing their flexible minds on the problem at hand, the synectics group uses four types of analogies to discuss.

Types of analogies of the synectics method

The fact that the existing analogies completely cover the experience and thoughts of people will become more clear if this classification is explained as follows: direct and fantastic are real and unreal analogies, and subjective and symbolic are bodily and abstract. However, we are not talking about their fundamental nature, since the regular practice of using the synectics method gradually expands the range of tools and allows you to develop more and more new methods of in-depth study and analysis of objects and phenomena.

Formation of a synectic team

The process of forming a group of synectors includes three phases:

1. The first is the selection of group members. Special tests are used, attention is drawn to the presence of a variety of knowledge, general erudition, a sufficient level of education, experience in experimental activities and flexibility of thinking. Sinectors are chosen by people of different professions and preferably with two incompatible specialties, for example, a physicist, an economist-engineer, or a musician-chemist.
2. The second phase of the formation of a group of synectors is their training. In Russia, the synectics method has not taken root (there are no own educational and methodological developments, and the existing world experience is rarely ignored), but in the West, both small companies and large corporations spend a lot of money on training their specialists in special institutions. For example, in the United States, the preparation of synectic groups lasts about a year and consists of face-to-face and correspondence sessions. The first ones are held in training centers, and then the trainees do practical work in their companies, solving theoretical and real problems.
3. The final phase is the introduction of the group into the real environment. A company that has sent its specialists for training or ordered a ready-made team (this can be a one-time or regular cooperation) receives it under certain conditions to work on its own projects.

The history of the development of synectics shows that the application of creative thinking in enterprises and the use of special units increases the likelihood of success in the field of setting tasks and solving problems, demonstrating the effect of synergy.

What are the special conditions created for the synectic procedure:

• Obligatory initial abstraction of participants from problems and tasks.
• Restraint of opinion and rejection of final conclusions.
• Naturalness and ease in discussions, a predisposition to playing around and modeling the situation.
• The manifestation of rationality in judgments.

As we can see, rationality appears only at the final stage of the synectic procedure. Before that, images, metaphors and analogies are used.

Stages of the synectics method

Like any other creative method of generating ideas, the synectics method consists of several stages, which, since its inception, have been constantly improved and modified. If we take the phases of the synectic process as described by William Gordon in his book Synectics: The Development of the Creative Imagination, they look like this:

At present, the steps of the synectics method are simplified and look more understandable. Although in reality this method is very difficult to use. It is not just that the training of synector groups lasts a whole year. If the owner of a large enterprise decides to use this method, one way or another he will need to find experienced specialists who train personnel in all the tricks of synectics. An ordinary person, on the other hand, can use analogies to solve creative problems, which are an important tool of the synectics method.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

The inventor deserves and should allow himself the same freedom of creativity as the innovator - the artist. He needs to be able to test the right idea, imagine the best solution to the problem and at the same time temporarily disregard the laws (norms) established in the world.

Only in this way can the image of the ideal be created. The expression "conscious self-deception" is used in synectics to express the fact that a person who solves a problem must be liberated in relation to the laws of nature that are in conflict with his ideal solution. A person who solves a problem must see what laws of the surrounding world are in conflict with his ideal solution.

The classical specialist tends to over-rationalism and feels threatened by everything that can "attack" his logical universe. The sinector must be able to step aside for a while from existing inconsistencies in order not to let them stop the process of creative work. A fantastic analogy serves to facilitate this process.

The essence of a fantastic analogy is to use fabulous means (for example, a magic wand) to solve a problem, determining the final result, the goal. Thus, synectics implements the operator for constructing a purely functional model of the desired solution. Another direction in which the apparatus of fantastic analogies is developing is the denial of physical laws that hinder approaching the solution or create a feeling of familiarity, ease of the task being solved.

The complex of means used in synectics is far from exhausted by the analogies and techniques presented above. The constant practice of applying the method made it possible to develop techniques for in-depth representation of the initial situation, means of its initial processing. In the process of solution, operators of psychophysiological activation are also used.

The solutions that sinectors offer often seem original, sometimes ordinary, ordinary, but it should be borne in mind that the basis and the greatest amount of work of sinectors is not in solving a problem, but in posing it, in the ability to see an unexpected angle, turn, accent. The tasks are usually not difficult and could be solved by other methods, but solutions are usually found soon after the situation is clarified, so additional funds are usually not involved.

So, synectics is a means for setting goals.

Actually, finding a solution with its help is a consequence of the well-known position that the correct formulation of the problem is half the solution. Let's remember one of the mottos of the synectors: "The formulated tasks are solved."

1. Formation of synectic groups

Although the mechanisms of synectics are simple in their basics, their application requires a huge expenditure of energy. In fact, synectics does not cancel the process of creative activity, but it activates thinking, making it more intense. The collective nature of the work makes it even more intense. The group within which the solution takes place is a complex and subtle mechanism that takes a long time to create and requires specific training from both students and teachers.

The process of synectic group formation consists of three main phases:

1. Selection of group members.

2. Training, group training.

3. Implantation of the group in the real environment (in the real environment).

Symbolic analogy includes a generalized, abstract verbal or graphic image of an object. This is a metaphor that reveals the properties of an object. We often encounter symbolic analogy in life. Speech is written in letters - symbols - symbols of sounds; quantity - in numbers, etc.1

Graphic analogy2

Graphic analogy is the ability to designate a real image or several images with any one symbol, highlighting common features in them.

By a graphical analogy, children are led to the concept - the “folding” technique - the ability to highlight the most important thing in the image. Most often, a symbolic image is given to children by adults. But if we want to develop a rich imagination in a child, the ability to transform, the ability to detect hidden dependencies and connections, as well as thinking in non-standard images, we must teach him to find a graphic analogy on his own.

You should start with the simplest - play with the children in the game "What's in the circle?". So you teach children the conditional image of any objects, the ability to classify them. Draw on the board, for example, circles (these can be triangles and squares - any geometric figure) and at the same time list: "This is an apple, this is a pear, this is a plum ...". (Usually, children immediately understand what items you are listing and help to name the missing ones). Then circle these circles in a big circle and ask: “Where does all this happen? Then the circles are what?

NB - do not arrange the figures in a circle so that the resulting image looks like an image of a face (this image appears immediately in children, and it is difficult to get away from it).

Do not immediately ask about the big circle: “What is it?”, - as the children immediately draw an analogy in appearance, answering like this: “Sausage, cheese ...”.

Next, give the children the opportunity to express their ideas. The circle is a garden, a basket, a vase, a shop, a market, a dish, a still life. Then say, “No. This is not fruit, this is ... ”(name, for example, several items of furniture). Then an apartment, a warehouse, a store, a kindergarten, etc. can become a big circle. Or: "No, these are not fruits, these are birds ... animals ... flowers ... trees ... toys ... children ...". The main goal of the game is to show children that different objects can be represented by the same geometric shapes.

Then you can suggest designating objects not with any figure, but with one that resembles them in shape. For example: fruits, vegetables - in circles; furniture, books, houses - squares or rectangles, etc. This is how the ability to “see” the abstract image of an object is consolidated.

Then you can "play" with the line. When reading a work to children, invite them to quickly draw the image of a hero, at first semi-real, highlighting the most important thing in the hero (For example: a beautiful girl is the sun, Ivanushka is only a smile ...). It is necessary to give a certain time to the image - this may be a short pause in reading, you can agree with the children like this: they draw while the adult reads the sentence to the end. This is necessary so that children do not get carried away with the details in the image when drawing.

Next, think with the children, how can you draw a portrait with one line? Invite them to try to feel a certain character through their own movements: stood up, straight as a string, froze - what are you now? Solid, strong, strong, steadfast, even... And Khavroshechka has a soft character, what will be the line? (wavy), etc.

Having worked in this way until the children have mastered the different styles of character lines, you can invite them to draw your “portrait”, “portrait” of a friend, neighbor, mother ...

When children learn to symbolize objects, heroes of fairy tales, adults, peers, they can be invited to create a model of a fairy tale in which, in addition to the images of heroes, their actions can be depicted. Children are given long narrow sheets of paper (it is more convenient to place actions on them sequentially) and one colored pencil (“multi-color” prevents children from concentrating).

When reading or telling a fairy tale, invite the children to “write” it the way an ancient person who did not know the letters would “write” it. You need to start with an unfamiliar fairy tale, otherwise the images will be ahead of the text. When the models are ready, invite the children to look at the drawings - notes, pay attention to the fact that there is one fairy tale, and the drawings - records are different. The most interesting thing is that no one else can read any model except its author. Invite the children to “read” their notes and compose new fairy tales using the same models: either from their own “record” or from a friend’s “record”. How many children - so many fairy tales. You can compose a fairy tale with the whole group or at home with your parents.

New fairy tales can be compiled by analogy with acquaintances, they can be completely different from them (a different situation, different characters, different relationships between them).

Learning to “record” a fairy tale, to make a model of it, children acquire a very important ability to highlight the most important thing in a work, to depict such reference signals that can be used to reproduce a familiar fairy tale or come up with a new one. The ability to make models will allow children in the future to plan an oral answer, write a presentation, an essay.

Children who know how to use models quickly master the basics of computer literacy, which is now becoming increasingly important.

Tasks:

1. Pick up literary characters with vivid, memorable images. Mark them with a line. Explain the relationship between the personality traits of the chosen character and the nature of the line with which you designated him.

2. Use the line to draw a "portrait" of your friend, colleague, boss (subject of the student's choice). Explain the relationship between the personality traits of the person you have chosen and the nature of the line that you marked him with.

3. Make a model of a fairy tale (a fairy tale of the student's choice). Look at the drawings - notes and compose new fairy tales-stories based on them.

4. Think about the activities of preschoolers and how you can use the graphic analogy. Illustrate your answer with illustrative examples.

Verbal symbolic analogy 1

Verbal symbolic analogy allows symbolic words to briefly convey content or meaning.

Instead of a long text, you can make a short one if each sentence or even paragraph is marked with a verbal symbol that accurately conveys the content. For example:

Lived!

Came. Played. Got into a fight. Ate. I listened. I scratched myself. I drew. Helped. Walked. Ate. I suffered. Awoke. Played. I scratched myself. I jumped. Ate. Walked. Went. Came. By ... no, exhausted!

It is possible, when conveying the content of the work, to designate characters and actions with symbolic unreal words. For example:

Finyafa

L. Petrushevskaya

Finyafa fia for fifa in a tiny tonic. Nearby are yapping masusenkie ibochki. Cap-cap capusnik. The flanks so yawned, yawned and stretched out above the temko. Finyafa spent the whole day yelling that she had some kind of - a little roof made of a barrel. Let the kapusnik drip now, the tonic will not drip. And under some kind of ibok, the finyaf has put a solik with suliks and drinks sik with gulls. And the gulls drink sik with peaks and praise the finyaf.

When composing such “works”, one must adhere to the rule: if at the beginning, a character or action was designated by some symbol, it cannot be changed, otherwise the children will simply make up a set of words, “losing” the content. At the initial stage, the teacher offers the children words-symbols, then they find the symbols on their own. Also, don't go after "long" pieces - just a few sentences will suffice. Use children's "works" in dramatization games: children like to pronounce unfamiliar or self-invented words, they can always be changed along the way, and there is no need to memorize and rehearse anything.

Children are very fond of composing "abracadabra" poems, replacing real words with their own, invented ones. It is only necessary to explain to the children: in order for the verses to describe something, it is necessary to coordinate the words in the sentence, not to change proper names, but to designate the same actions with the same words - analogues. Composing poems in familiar rhyme and rhythm, children master the rhythm of versification. For example, to A. Barto's poem "Our Tanya cries loudly":

Fine Nyafa Morko ticket:

Porishara in a chichik bowl.

Sha-shi, Nyafochka, don't tich,

Do not kayuknet in the kush chich!

You can invent poems with the maximum use of the studied letters or syllables. For example, according to the lullaby "Bayu-bayushki-bayu":

Mau - maushki - mau,

Mu swear on my mu.

Mi little mouset,

Mo mouknet and miset.

Tasks:

1. Using words - symbols, compose a short text - a story on the topic: in the library, a bus ride at rush hour, an exam, a lecture, at work, a conversation with the head of the kindergarten (a topic of the student's choice).

2. Using symbolic unrealistic words, make up a story.

3. Replacing real words with fictitious ones, compose "Abracadabra" verses (the verse is the basis of the student's choice).

4. Come up with poems with the maximum use of any letters or syllables (letters and syllables of the student's choice).

5. Read aloud with expression

A. Pushkin S. Yesenin S. Yesenin

17 30 48 14 126 14 170! 16 39

140 10 01 132 17 43 514 700 142

126 138 16 42 511 612 349

140 3 501 704 83 17 114 02

V. Mayakovsky A. Barto A. Barto

2 46 38 1 2 15 42 35 06 07

116 14 20! 42 15 6 07 17

15 14 21 37 08 5 45 3 26

14 0 17 20, 20, 20. 20, 20, 20.

6. Compose poems using numbers instead of words.

Let's get acquainted with a very difficult, but very effective technique with a strange-sounding name "synectics", which can be translated from Greek as "incompatible connection".

The editors of the site continue to talk about the simplest and most effective finds in the field of creativity and methods for generating ideas. In previous posts, we talked about the six main rules that will help build your “creativity muscle”, how to get rid of “junk” thoughts, considered the focal object method, and also learned how to create your own “idea box” and generate ideas using zero and infinity.

Today we will get acquainted with a very difficult, but very effective technique with a strange-sounding name "synectics". The history of synectics (from Greek can be translated as “combination of the incompatible”), some authors begin in the mid-1940s, when the American researcher and inventor William Gordon began to study the processes of creativity, others from the early 1950s, when the first synectic group was created, and still others from Gordon's 1961 book Synectics: The Development of the Creative Imagination.

Over the long decades of its existence, synectics has developed, and at the same time ... simplified, becoming more accessible for understanding and use. Even the composition of the main stages has changed over time. In addition, even today it is a rather complex system, so do not be surprised if you find that in various popular articles the method is described in different ways (sometimes you even get the feeling that we are talking about some different things): it's still the same elephant , only one begins to talk about him from the tail, and the other from the trunk. But in any interpretation in synectics, there is something that distinguishes it from all others: two basic synectic operators and four types of analogies.

Operators

Synectics operators are "turning the unfamiliar into the familiar" and "turning the familiar into the unfamiliar".

The first operator reflects a way of solving problems that is quite familiar to us. Let's say you are faced with something seemingly unsolvable. And then you manage to break this “monster” into several subtasks, in relation to each of which you can say: “Oh! So this is just a task from such and such an area! And, for example, it turns out that the “unsolvable” unusual problem of meeting the requirements of a new, very capricious (but very profitable and promising!) Customer is just a set of completely non-terrible tasks from the areas of logistics, personnel management, business information support and maintaining relationships with customers.

Although the decomposition technique allows you to solve many problems, you cannot crack a really interesting problem with it alone. You can get a kind of quite clear subtask - but which you will not know how to solve (either in general or taking into account specific nuances and restrictions dictated by the situation).

And then you have to turn to the second operator and turn the familiar (but unsolvable) into something else, allowing you to literally look at the problem with different eyes. To do this, synectics uses the mechanism of analogies or metaphors. In total, there are four types of analogies in synectics: direct, personal, symbolic and fantastic.

Direct analogy

This is one of the most "promoted" paths to inventions and other creative insights. At least, according to popular versions, self-sharpening tools appeared as an imitation of the structure of rodent teeth, the “co-author” of the caisson method of building underwater structures is a woodworm, and the behavior of ants overcoming an obstacle suggested the idea of ​​hitching tanks to cross anti-tank ditches. And there are many such examples.

The mechanism of direct analogy involves the search for already once and somewhere solved problems, somewhat similar to the one that baffled you. And the second step is an attempt to apply the principle of the found solution to your problem. Sometimes things turn out to be ridiculously simple when the solution is practically in the same area as the original problem. So, the American inventor Doug Hall once received an order from a well-known company to develop a technology for preparing a new drink - iced tea. “What is there to be smart about!”, the inventor decided and simply reproduced it in the usual daily brewing process, but on a much larger scale - the world's largest “tea bag” is lowered into a giant “glass” of boiling water.

Personal analogy

As you know, the theory of relativity appeared, among other things, thanks to Einstein's habit of traveling on a light beam and from time to time even turning into a light beam itself (it is clear that the brilliant physicist did all this only in his imagination). To imagine oneself as a part of a problem or a solution being constructed, a participant in the process being studied, to be aware of one's feelings and actions at the same time - this is a personal analogy.

For example, in business, there are millions of untapped opportunities waiting for someone to imagine themselves as something out of the blue: say, luggage, a package sent, or a washing machine handed over for repair. Not to mention such trivial things as imagining yourself in the place of a buyer, guest or passenger.

Symbolic analogy

This kind of analogy also helps to bring out the poet in you. The task is to give a vivid definition of the problem (key object, process, etc.) literally in a nutshell. At the same time, it is desirable that these words do not match each other in meaning, ideally, the presence of a direct contradiction. This kind of analogy is also called the "title of the book."

For example, what do you think “programmed surprise” is about? That's right - about the essence of the insurance business. Or here's another series of analogies: "bright everyday life", "cleanliness mess", "optional necessity", "dry washing", "rough tenderness", "junk value", "cheap sophistication". This is part of the "book titles" once born by the synectic group working on the creation of new paper napkins.

One of the goals of symbolic analogy is to reveal the conflict hidden in something habitual, which at the same time constitutes the very essence of the phenomenon. If we clearly see the key contradiction, we already see the path along which a solution should be sought. It is one thing to create some kind of incomprehensible napkin that would be a success with consumers. And quite another - if you need "rough tenderness" or "dry washing". We're just looking for technology to make it happen. Also, a brief and metaphorical wording should help launch some other chains of associations.

We don't know exactly how the idea of ​​a "window interface" actually came about, implemented in the Macintosh computer and then replicated in Windows. But if at that time a synectic had been working on the creation of the interface, he could well have come up with the following symbolic analogy for the monitor: “opaque window”. And there is already a stone's throw to the "windows".

Fantastic analogy

This kind of analogy involves placing the problem in some kind of "unreal" context or introducing fantastic means or characters into it. How would this problem be solved if you had an anti-gravity device? Or let's put the question differently: what miracle of technology of the distant future do you need to solve your problem easily? Or if you had a magic wand, what exactly would it do?

As for the characters, you may wonder: how would Baba Yaga or the Serpent Gorynych get out in this situation? In other words, you free yourself from the oppression of reality, from all the “impossible” and “not possible”, and find some fantastic solutions to the problem. And then see which of them can be transferred from the fantasy world to the real world.