Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M7170

The Intermediate Impossible

The Intermediate Impossible
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Updated 2026-08-10

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A lateral thinking technique from Edward de Bono in which a deliberately impossible intermediate state is inserted between the starting point and the goal when the direct path is blocked. Its core proposition is that a ridiculous or impossible assumption loosens the constraints that keep thinking rigid, so passing through an absurd position can open an unexpected route that a feasibility-only search never reaches. The qualifier is that the impossible state is a springboard, and usable clues must be extracted from it and carried back.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Blocked path: notice early when the direct route from A to B has stalled completely. - Impossible insertion: deliberately construct an absurd intermediate state between them. - Clue extraction: pull usable leads out of the absurd state and carry them carefully back.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Feasibility acts as a constraint on search, so only routes compatible with what is already believed possible are explored. Inserting an impossible state suspends that constraint, which loosens the assumption set, and the deliberate exploration of what would follow from the absurd position often surfaces an option that the constrained search could never generate.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_de_BonoZH · Explicit
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