Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

arrow_back_ios_new
MENTAL MODEL · M10141

Oblique Strategies

Oblique Strategies
CreateHigh supportInnovation Methods
Included
account_tree

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Origin: A card deck created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975. Random intervention: Draw a card and act on its instruction. Example instructions: "Delete the most important part", "Do it backwards", "Ask your body". Scaffolding role: Use random constraints to break fixed thinking patterns. When stuck, a random lateral instruction can open new directions—not telling you what to do, but giving you an unexpected perspective.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Use random constraints to break fixed thinking patterns. When stuck, a random lateral instruction can open new directions—not telling you what to do, but giving you an unexpected perspective.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

A set of cards with paradoxical, poetic prompts (e.g., "Take the most unlikely element as the lead"), drawn randomly when creative blocks occur to break linear thinking. Created by Eno and Schmidt.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
Learning progress0%
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_StrategiesZH · Explicit
    verified

RELATED MODELS

Related model

First Principles

In philosophy and science, a first principle (or first principles) refers to a basic proposition that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. The concept originates in philosophy from Aristotle's doctrine of the 'first cause', while in Kantian philosophy, its corresponding form is called a 'postulate'. In mathematics and formal logic, first principles manifest as 'axioms' or 'postulates', constituting the absolute starting point of logical deduction. In physics and other scientific fields, if the research process is entirely based on fundamental physical laws, without relying on empirical models or parameter fitting, it is referred to as 'from first principles' or 'ab initio'.

arrow_forwardRelated model

Start-Stop-Continue

A minimal feedback structure

arrow_forwardRelated model

Oblique Strategies

A set of cards designed by Brian Eno, each containing an instruction to break creative deadlocks through lateral thinking (e.g., "Honor your error as a hidden intention", "Remove specifics and keep the general").

arrow_forward