21 June 2005

Greatest Minds Lecture

Dr Edward de Bono, the creator of the term "lateral thinking" and one of the world's leading authorities in conceptual and creative thinking, will deliver the 2005 Greatest Minds Lecture at the University of Dundee on Thursday June 23.

Dr de Bono's lecture, titled "How the human race has never really learned to think", is a typically stimulating look at how we can explore new avenues of creative thinking.

"Our existing habits of thinking were derived from the Greek Gang of Three - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle," said Dr de Bono. "This thinking is concerned with recognition of standard situations and the provision of standard answers. We have done very little about creative thinking or design thinking - for various reasons.

"Our existing thinking is excellent just as the front left wheel of a motor car is excellent, but it is not enough. In this talk I will be discussing the logical basis of creativity"

Dr de Bono is in great demand as a lecturer and trainer, and his instruction has been sought by governments and major corporations around the world. He is also a bestselling author and has written 62 books, published in 37 languages.

Born in Malta in 1933, he graduated in medicine from Royal University of Malta, proceeded as a Rhodes Scholar to Christ Church, Oxford, where he took an Honours degree in Psychology and DPhil in Medicine. He also holds a PhD from Cambridge and has had faculty appointments at the Universities of Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard.

Dr de Bono owns and lives on an island in Venice where he runs international seminars.

The Greatest Minds Lecture takes place at the Bonar Hall, University of Dundee, at 6.15 pm on Thursday June 23. The event is open to the public and tickets, which are free, can be obtained from the University Tower Reception or the Department of External Relations - tel: 01382 345564 or e-mail: events@dundee.ac.uk

By Roddy Isles, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, r.isles@dundee.ac.uk