What techniques does de Bono suggest for restructuring thought patterns?

Six techniques: viewpoint reversal, visual thinking, decomposition, changing relations, analogy formation, and attention shifting.

1. Viewpoint Reversal (Blickpunktumkehrung)

   • Look at the problem from the opposite perspective
   • Example: Instead of "How do we prevent breaches?" → "If I wanted to breach this system, what would I do?"

2. Visual Thinking (Visuelles Denken)

   • Draw, diagram, or map the problem instead of thinking in words
   • Makes hidden relationships and structures visible

3. Decomposition & Reassembly (Zerlegung eines Problems in kleinere Bausteine)

   • Break the problem into parts, then reassemble in a different order
   • Similar to "fractionalization" in problem-solving

4. Changing Relations (Verändern der Relationen)

   • Alter the relationships between elements of the problem
   • "What if A depended on C instead of B?"

5. Analogy Formation (Analogienbildung)

   • Find parallels in completely different domains
   • Example: Immune system → cybersecurity defense architecture

6. Attention to Less Obvious Aspects (Aufmerksamkeit auf weniger vordergründige Aspekte richten)

   • Deliberately focus on what seems unimportant
   • In security, attackers often exploit the "boring" parts everyone overlooks (like customer service procedures in the Mat Honan case)

De Bono's insight: Humans always try to extract familiar elements from unfamiliar environments — these techniques deliberately break that habit.