6 ms·

Oblique Strategies

48 points by pmoriarty 4y ago

lelandfe 4y ago
I learned about these from this hilarious cartoon on how David Bow recorded Warszawa: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8 …and actually have used this method myself to get out of ruts! But as photography prompts instead :)
readingnews 4y ago
They are very interesting. I looked at these a long time ago when starting a business. OTOH, they are pretty expensive for 100 oblique cards. :) I always forget how old they are. https://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/oblique-strategies.html https://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/oblique-strategies.html
jacknews 4y ago
I saw them described as something like 'delightful bunk' somewhere. There's nothing scientific about them, probably some random phrases on cards would be just as 'inspirational', but nonetheless there's something about them. I do own an original set, pack, whatever they're called.
- mistermann 4y ago
  > There's nothing scientific about them I'm curious... How did you determine this to be true? Is being scientific a pre-requiste for something (value maybe)? Is
  - jacknews 4y ago
    Well you can read how they were created (unscientifically), and AFAIK there is no evidence that they are beneficial or detrimental to creativity, so if they do work, nobody has tested it, or it's in a way that's not easy to measure. Is 'scientific' a requirement? IMHO not at all, in fact it's part of the charm, but if you are looking for a system that is 'proven to work', then obviously this fails.
JoeAltmaier 4y ago
There was some old fraternal organization that used to spin a set of wheels labelled with words like 'perfect', 'inspirational', 'glory'. Then they would open the meeting by discussing how it described God - "God's glory is perfect" etc. If it didn't make sense, they just spun again. Seems no bad idea ever dies!
- WalterGR 4y ago
  They aren't tarot cards. They aren't intended to describe, explain, or foretell anything.
  - Tao332 4y ago
    Mechanically it's the same as divination. It just has all the superstition and pretenses of the supernatural stripped away. E.g. I don't think there's anything magical about the I Ching, but it can be a useful way to consider a situation from an angle you wouldn't normally choose.
    - smcl 4y ago
      There's also a principle which I cannot remember the name of, where in some situations when confronted with a set of options that are of similar value, if you're forced to make a choice yourself you end up less satisfied than if a random choice was made for you. There was a segment on this in a RadioLab episode a decade ago or so. It makes a bit of sense - you can easily regret a decision you personally make to various degrees, but with something left to chance there's little to regret or stew over.
      - WalterGR 4y ago
        The Paradox of Choice, maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice
        smcl 4y ago
krnlpnc 4y ago
Sometimes limitations do foster creativity. Drawing a card and following the statement can help put you in a different mindset and try new things. It’s quite effective.
smcl 4y ago
If you don't feel like they're motivational enough, there's a set of these with a slight modification to get you a bit more pumped: https://www.obliquefuckingstrategies.com https://www.obliquefuckingstrategies.com
BaraBatman 4y ago
I love starting up my terminal with one of this every time. I ended up coding a simple python package for it, and adding a simple `obliquestrategies | lolcat` to my `~/.zshrc` https://github.com/FdelMazo/obliquestrategies/ https://github.com/FdelMazo/obliquestrategies/
jonathaneunice 4y ago
Sounds like an informal variation on / parallel to the TRIZ idea: ”Here are a bunch of strategies… If you get stuck, try one of these!” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ
mlwise 4y ago
Hoping this adds the to conversation. I had been thinking about Brian Eno's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno) work and approach to creativity. At the same time, what's the word, dismayed, with the application and evolution of various "ways of working" in my industry. So from 27+ years of observation, reflection and participation, I've come to believe my work was always "journey" based. Get to base camp, get up to the hill etc... i.e. deliver, deliver and deliver. But when things go wrong, >>> work out a way around <<< the important bit; and what I feel Oblique Strategies might be attempting to resolve. Its funny. When people leave projects they always reflect on the journey. Strange eh? As such I attempted to developed a manifesto called "Push". As in "I push the trolley around the supermarket. I push myself to exercise. I push my kids through school. Why is the creative process any different?" -- yeah, yer, corny I know (c: "Push Manifesto is about vision, collaboration, inclusive behaviours, determination, communication, governance, learning, and above all prioritizes the journey; using waypoints over iterations and milestones, balancing desire for fit-for-purpose, targeting shared value outcomes for users and stakeholders. Push Manifesto feeds the Maturity Model, evidence-based mindset, supporting the scientific approach daring to explore the latent space, with a pragmatic world-view." Set yourself "waypoints" that have value. You can iterate, waterfall, tick-tock from there. However it feels best to get the ticks in the boxes. Most projects fail, all journeys complete, one way or another. Famously "creativity has no timeline" and forcing it tends to not satisfy the art form or the artist. Can you use Push at work? Yes. Does it work with SAFE and Agile? Sure. Isn't it just common sense? Maybe? - Condense your stand ups to just 2 a week top and bottom. - Choose afternoon times not mornings. Consolidate multiple projects into these stand ups. - Use software for card walls. - Manage your knowledge and keep that with the assets. Do not update the card with "findings". JIRAs/workitems/ToDos/Output what ever you call shovelling dirt mutates assets. - Kill ceremonies. Sure do reviews one-to-one or group, reflect; but inline and when it matters. - Talk to each other. Like you're around the campfire of creativity. Anyway enjoy, links below: - https://www.pushmanifesto.org/ https://www.pushmanifesto.org/ - https://github.com/wisejnrs/pushmanifesto https://github.com/wisejnrs/pushmanifesto Feel free to PR me. Mike

48 points by pmoriarty 4y ago

I learned about these from this hilarious cartoon on how David Bow recorded Warszawa: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8 …and actually have used this method myself to get out of ruts! But as photography prompts instead :)

readingnews 4y ago

They are very interesting. I looked at these a long time ago when starting a business. OTOH, they are pretty expensive for 100 oblique cards. :) I always forget how old they are. https://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/oblique-strategies.html https://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/oblique-strategies.html

jacknews 4y ago

I saw them described as something like 'delightful bunk' somewhere. There's nothing scientific about them, probably some random phrases on cards would be just as 'inspirational', but nonetheless there's something about them. I do own an original set, pack, whatever they're called.

mistermann 4y ago
> There's nothing scientific about them I'm curious... How did you determine this to be true? Is being scientific a pre-requiste for something (value maybe)? Is
- jacknews 4y ago
  Well you can read how they were created (unscientifically), and AFAIK there is no evidence that they are beneficial or detrimental to creativity, so if they do work, nobody has tested it, or it's in a way that's not easy to measure. Is 'scientific' a requirement? IMHO not at all, in fact it's part of the charm, but if you are looking for a system that is 'proven to work', then obviously this fails.

JoeAltmaier 4y ago

There was some old fraternal organization that used to spin a set of wheels labelled with words like 'perfect', 'inspirational', 'glory'. Then they would open the meeting by discussing how it described God - "God's glory is perfect" etc. If it didn't make sense, they just spun again. Seems no bad idea ever dies!

WalterGR 4y ago
They aren't tarot cards. They aren't intended to describe, explain, or foretell anything.
- Tao332 4y ago
  Mechanically it's the same as divination. It just has all the superstition and pretenses of the supernatural stripped away. E.g. I don't think there's anything magical about the I Ching, but it can be a useful way to consider a situation from an angle you wouldn't normally choose.
  - smcl 4y ago
    There's also a principle which I cannot remember the name of, where in some situations when confronted with a set of options that are of similar value, if you're forced to make a choice yourself you end up less satisfied than if a random choice was made for you. There was a segment on this in a RadioLab episode a decade ago or so. It makes a bit of sense - you can easily regret a decision you personally make to various degrees, but with something left to chance there's little to regret or stew over.
    - WalterGR 4y ago
      The Paradox of Choice, maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice
      - smcl 4y ago

krnlpnc 4y ago

Sometimes limitations do foster creativity. Drawing a card and following the statement can help put you in a different mindset and try new things. It’s quite effective.

smcl 4y ago

If you don't feel like they're motivational enough, there's a set of these with a slight modification to get you a bit more pumped: https://www.obliquefuckingstrategies.com https://www.obliquefuckingstrategies.com

BaraBatman 4y ago

I love starting up my terminal with one of this every time. I ended up coding a simple python package for it, and adding a simple `obliquestrategies | lolcat` to my `~/.zshrc` https://github.com/FdelMazo/obliquestrategies/ https://github.com/FdelMazo/obliquestrategies/

jonathaneunice 4y ago

Sounds like an informal variation on / parallel to the TRIZ idea: ”Here are a bunch of strategies… If you get stuck, try one of these!” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ

mlwise 4y ago

Hoping this adds the to conversation. I had been thinking about Brian Eno's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno) work and approach to creativity. At the same time, what's the word, dismayed, with the application and evolution of various "ways of working" in my industry. So from 27+ years of observation, reflection and participation, I've come to believe my work was always "journey" based. Get to base camp, get up to the hill etc... i.e. deliver, deliver and deliver. But when things go wrong, >>> work out a way around <<< the important bit; and what I feel Oblique Strategies might be attempting to resolve. Its funny. When people leave projects they always reflect on the journey. Strange eh? As such I attempted to developed a manifesto called "Push". As in "I push the trolley around the supermarket. I push myself to exercise. I push my kids through school. Why is the creative process any different?" -- yeah, yer, corny I know (c: "Push Manifesto is about vision, collaboration, inclusive behaviours, determination, communication, governance, learning, and above all prioritizes the journey; using waypoints over iterations and milestones, balancing desire for fit-for-purpose, targeting shared value outcomes for users and stakeholders. Push Manifesto feeds the Maturity Model, evidence-based mindset, supporting the scientific approach daring to explore the latent space, with a pragmatic world-view." Set yourself "waypoints" that have value. You can iterate, waterfall, tick-tock from there. However it feels best to get the ticks in the boxes. Most projects fail, all journeys complete, one way or another. Famously "creativity has no timeline" and forcing it tends to not satisfy the art form or the artist. Can you use Push at work? Yes. Does it work with SAFE and Agile? Sure. Isn't it just common sense? Maybe? - Condense your stand ups to just 2 a week top and bottom. - Choose afternoon times not mornings. Consolidate multiple projects into these stand ups. - Use software for card walls. - Manage your knowledge and keep that with the assets. Do not update the card with "findings". JIRAs/workitems/ToDos/Output what ever you call shovelling dirt mutates assets. - Kill ceremonies. Sure do reviews one-to-one or group, reflect; but inline and when it matters. - Talk to each other. Like you're around the campfire of creativity. Anyway enjoy, links below: - https://www.pushmanifesto.org/ https://www.pushmanifesto.org/ - https://github.com/wisejnrs/pushmanifesto https://github.com/wisejnrs/pushmanifesto Feel free to PR me. Mike