BOOK TITLE : SIX THINKING HATS
AUTHOR : EDWARD DE BONO
In this book the author introduces a way of how to think. He introduces the concept of parallel thinking.
He says that the enemy of thought is its complexity, which leads to confusion. When the thoughts are clear and simple, it is easy to make decisions. The concept of six hats is very simple to understand and use.
In ordinary, unstructured thinking this process is unfocused; the thinker leaps from critical thinking to neutrality to optimism and so on without structure or strategy. The Six Hats Thinking process attempts to introduce parallel thinking.
Many individuals are used to this and develop their own habits unconsciously. Sometimes, these are effective and sometimes times not effective. What is certain is that when thinking in a group these individual strategies will tend not to converge. As a result, discussion will not tend to converge. Due to the power of ego and the identified predilection to black thinking hat in the majority of western culture, it can lead to very destructive meetings. Even with clear shared objectives and good courtesy in any collaborative thinking activity there is a natural tendency for "spaghetti thinking" where one person is thinking about the benefits while another considers the facts and so on. The six hats process avoids this. Everyone considers and everyone looks in the same direction together. For example, a façade of a house (metaphorically speaking) and then the group will turn to the backyard. These can also be benifits, or the facts, or the problems, reducing distractions and supporting cross thought pollination. This is achieved because everyone will put on one hat, for example, the white hat together and then they will all put on the next hat, together. In this way, everyone present will think in the same way at the same time. The only exception is the conductor, who will tend to keep the blue hat on all the time to make sure things progress effectively. The blue thinking hat tends to be the outward-looking, leader or trail blazing hat that attracts the leaders of all groups. The thinking hats are not a description but a way to look at things. So, such methodology aids in better design. That is because as a designing system it is based on a creating system rather than an adversarial confrontational thinking system such as dialectic were there is somebody having opposite position.

THE PROCESS OF THE THINKING HATS :
THE WHITE THINKING HAT
The white colour indicates neutrality. It is also called the target hat.
In this approach of thinking, one should be neutral and objective. One should not make interpretations nor give his/her opinions. The thinker should think like a computer. He should consider the facts and the numbers that are requested of him. The thinker should frame and need the questions to obtain information or to fill the vacancy of the existing information.
There exists a double system of information. The first level of information contains the facts that are verified and proven, done of first class. The second level of information contains the facts that have not been proven or verified but one thinks to be true.
The credibility varies from ‘always true’ to ‘never true’. In means there are usable levels, such as ‘in general’, ‘sometimes’, and ‘ in occasional form’ . It can to present/display this class of information with the white hat whenever it is used the ‘appropriate frame’ to indicate its degree of probability. thought of white hat is a discipline and a direction. Thinking the information makes an effort to be more neutral and more objective when presenting/displaying. You they can request that you put the white hat or you can request to him to which do. It is possible to be chosen to use it or to clear it to it.
THE RED THINKING HAT
'Wearing' the red hat, you look at problems using intuition and emotion and gut reaction. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally and try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.
The use of the Red hat allows the thinker to say: "Therefore I feel this way with respect to this subject ".
The hat red it makes the feelings visible so that they can become a part of map and also of the system of values that choose the route in the map.
The hat provides the thinker with an advisable method to enter and to leave the way
Emotional, thus it can do it of a way that is not possible without this trick or instrument.
When thinker is using the red hat, he would never have to make the attempt to justify the feelings or base them on the logic.
The red hat covers two ample types of feeling. In the first place, the common emotions, that vary from the forts, such as fear and misfortune, until subtler as the suspicion.
Secondly, the complex judgments, classifiable in types such as prefeelings, intuitions, sensations, aesthetic preferences, feelings and other nonjustifiable types of way perceivable. THE BLACK THINKING HAT
When one uses the way of the black hat, the thinker indicates what is incorrect, bad and the erroneous things. The black hat takes care of the negative judgement. The thinker of black hat indicates that something does not comply to the experience or to the knowledge accepted. The thinker indicates why something is not going to work. The thinker identifies the dangers and risks. The thinker identifies the imperfections of a design. Thought of black hat is argumentation and it would never have to consider so. It is an objective attempt to put in the map the element’s negatives. Thought of black hat can indicate the errors in the process of thought and in the method. Thought of black hat can confront an idea with the past stops to verify if it fits with already known facts.
Thought of black hat can project an idea in the future verifying what could fail or go badly.
Thought of black hat can make negative questions. Thought of black hat would not have to be used to conceal satisfactory negative refusal or feelings, those that would have to use the red hat. The judgment positive is for the yellow hat. To evaluate new ideas, yellow hat always is due to use before the black.
THE YELLOW THINKING HAT
The yellow colour symbolizes the brightness of the sun and optimism. The thought of yellow hat is positive and constructive.
The thought of the yellow hat takes care of the positive evaluation of the same one way that the thought of the black hat takes care of the negative evaluation.
The thought of the yellow hat includes a positive phantom that goes from the logical aspect and practitioner is enough the dreams, visions and hopes.
The yellow hat is generative and constructive. The yellow hat thinker investigates and explores in search of value and benefit and later try to find logical endorsement for this value and benefit. The yellow hat does not take care of mere positive euphoria (‘red hat’) neither, directly, of the creation of new ideas (‘green hat’).
THE GREEN THINKING HAT
The green hat is for the creative thoughts. The thinker should use the language of creative thought. People around the thinker should consider the product like a creative product. when the thinker is using green hat, the listener would also have to use green hat.
The green colour is also a symbol of fertility, growth, and value of the seeds. Searching for alternatives is a fundamental aspect of green hat thinking. It’s necessary to go beyond the obvious, well known and satisfactory things.
In the thought of green hat, the language of the movement replaces to the one of the judgment. The thinker tries to advance from one idea to reach another new idea. Provocation is an important element of the green hat. It uses the provocations to leave our habitual guidelines of thought. Several forms exist to raise provocations including the method of the word at random. lateral thought is a series of attitudes, languages and techniques (that they include movement, provocation,etc) to jump of guidelines in a system car-organized of asymmetric guidelines. It is used to generate concepts and perceptions.

THE BLUE THINKING HAT
Blue hat is the hat of control. The blue hat thinker organizes the thought. To think with blue hat means to think about the thought or approach necessary to investigate the subject.
The blue hat tinker is like the conductor. He is the one who proposes the calls to use of other hats. The thinker of blue hat defines the subject towards which the thought should go. The blue hat thought establishes the center. It defines the problems and elaborates the questions. The blue hat thought determines the tasks of thought that is going away to develop. The thought of blue hat is responsible for the synthesis, global vision and the conclusions.
This can happen of as much in as much during the course of pensamiento and also in the
End thought of monitorea blue hat the thought and assures the respect the rules of Game. The thought of blue hat stops discussion e it insists on the cartographic thought. The thought of blue hat it reinforces and it applies the discipline. It is possible to be used the thought of blue hat in possible interruptions to request hat. Also it can be used to establish a gradual sequence of operations of thought that must be respected as a dance respects choreography. Even though assign to a person the roll I specify of the thought of blue hat, this roll is open to whatever it wants to propose commentaries or suggestions of blue hat.

What I think about this book :
By giving each person a role (and each person eventually playing all the roles), this method reduces the amount of personality based conflict and encourages more participation and gives validation to many different ways of presenting the question. This should make each person feel invested and more affirmed in the process. Also, as the route is focused on getting lots out on the table, this also suspends judgment longer so that more ideas can emerge.
The concept introduced is more of a procedure that's used in groups to guide the discussion. It shows an interesting way of leading a group discussion. It doesn’t give you new ideas to thinking process.
It acknowledges the importance of emotions in decision-making and tries to separate them from the facts and from the positive or negative implications of the decision.
REVIEW BY PRITHVI T.