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Edward de Bono

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Edward de Bono (born May 19 1933) is a Maltese psychologist and physician. De Bono writes prolifically on subjects of lateral thinking, a concept he is believed to have pioneered. De Bono is also a consultant who has worked with companies such as Coca-cola and Ericsson.

History

Born in Malta, Edward de Bono studied at St Edward's College and subsequently gained a medical degree from the Royal University of Malta. Studying at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he gained an honours degree in psychology and physiology and a D.Phil in medicine. He went on to complete a PhD at Cambridge, and to faculty appointments at Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard. He was married to Josephine (divorced 2005), has two sons, and has resided on the Channel Islands for over a decade. He has other properties including one in Malta and a flat in London.

In 1969 De Bono founded the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) which continues to produce and promote material based on his ideas.

He has written "75 books with translations into 37 languages". He has spent the last 30 years teaching thinking, including working with governments, corporations, organisations and individuals, speaking publicly or privately on many matters. He has started to set up the World Center for New Thinking, based in Malta, which he describes as a "kind of intellectual Red Cross".

In 1995, he created the futuristic documentary film, 2040: Possibilities by Edward de Bono, a lecture designed to prepare an audience of viewers released from a cryogenic freeze for contemporary (2040) society.

De Bono has detailed a range of 'deliberate thinking methods' - applications emphasizing thinking as a deliberate act rather than a reactive one. His writing style is simple and clear, though often criticised for being dry and repetitive. Avoiding academic terminology, he has advanced applied psychology by making theories about creativity and perception into usable tools.

De Bono's work has become particularly popular in the sphere of business - perhaps because of the perceived need to restructure corporations, to allow more flexible working practices and to innovate in products and services. The methods have migrated into corporate training courses designed to help employees and executives 'think out of the box'/' think outside the box '.

The popularity of his work extends, too, into the sphere of worldwide popular culture; in the popular Japanese anime series Azumanga Daioh, the character Osaka is known for her skill at solving lateral thinking puzzles such as those pioneered by de Bono. [citation needed]

Games

De Bono invented the L Game, a simple board game that requires strategy to win.

He has also suggested an alternative to the penalty shootout when a soccer match ends in a draw. If the number of times each goalkeeper touches the ball is recorded throughout the game the results can be compared in the event of a draw. The team whose goalkeeper has touched the ball more often is the loser. The winner will then be the team that has had more attempts at scoring goals and is more aggressive (and therefore exciting) in their style of play. This mechanism would avoid the tension of the penalty shoot out. [citation needed]


Published works

Books by de Bono include:

De Bono has also written numerous articles published in refereed and other journals, including The Lancet and Clinical Science.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Edward de Bono.
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