Going Beyond Average

1500 hundred kindergarten children were given a test in divergent thinking.

98% of those children scored at genius level.

Divergent thinking is what allows you to see lots of possible answers to a question.

If you ask your average person how to cook an egg, he'll come up with about ten different ways you can do it. Frying pan, poacher, pot of boiling water, in a cake, etc.

Someone good at divergent thinking will come up with 200 ways to cook that egg.

How?

Because she thinks outside of the kitchen. He'll cook the egg on the back of sunbather at the beach. At the end of a lightning rod. Or how about putting it in a indestructible container and throwing it into the center of the sun?

80% of the answers will be impractical... but it's how you find the perfect answer nobody has thought about yet.

According to this one study (from the book "Breakpoint and Beyond") we're all born with a natural ability for divergent thinking. 1,470 out 1,500 children are brilliant at thinking up endless possibilities.

The same study tested the same kids ten years later.

As you can imagine, most lost their ability for divergent thinking.

"This shows two things," says Sir Ken Robinson (world renowned education and creativity expert). "One is we all have this capacity. And two, it mostly deteriorates."

"Now, a lot of thing has happened to these kids as they've grown up. Al lot. But one of the most important things that has happened to them, I'm convinced, is they've become 'educated.' They spent ten years at school being told there's one answer – it's at the back."

That's what today's "Paper Airplane" video is all about.

And do you know why divergent thinking is so important? Because no two situations are exactly the same.

Whatever troubles, challenges or goals you are facing in life... they are like no one else's. You'll never find the exact answer to your problems in a book.

You need to think for yourself.

And you need to think of not 10 or 20 or even 40 different solutions for your problem.

You need to think of 200.

You need to think way outside the box... Because life doesn't come in a box with a instruction manual.

Nonetheless... what tends to happen is we end up putting our life in a box supplied to us by society. It even comes an instruction "one-size fits all" manual.

Of course, it's never going to get you very far. Living in someone else's box, following their instructions. At best, you'll be average.