nonlocal

Thinking outside the conventional box opens up possibilities.

Conventions are invented ... abstractions ... so we are governed by some of them purely voluntarily. Some consequences for ignoring a given convention can be quite small (like no one notices for instance) or quite high (like one goes to jail because the ignored convention is enforced by law).

But the realized possibility from thinking outside convention may have no bearing on the convention at all...it may just be a real possibility you've never considered and could be great.

Since conventions are invented and so totally voluntary in the realm of thought, blindness caused by conventional thinking is easy to overcome by a simple thought: "if I didn't look at this from a conventional point of view, what would it look like then?"

A good example of mass conventional thought is same sex marriage and both sides of the issue are prone to their own conventional mindset and this blinds them to the possibilities of a satisfactory solution.

Tools for thinking outside the conventional box:
1. Empathy
2. "What if"
3. "Why do I believe this?

There are more...I still need to invent them and I need to go get another coffee so that's all for today.