Creativity juice -- Mind games
Posted: 23 Nov 2011, 18:03
I'm designing a bunch of mind games to encourage unconventional thinking, with the end goal of helping people who want to be creative, but just can't seem to get their creativity juice going. You people will get to be my guinea pigs for the first stage (don't worry, it's fun).
The way this works: I will post a short story, told from the second person, which only goes up to a certain point (usually that point will be a climax). The end of the story asks you, what do you do next? And you need to answer that question. There will be two example answers given to help get you in the right state of thinking. The stories are designed to eliminate conventional thinking so that you need to think unconventionally to figure out your answer. And there is never just one right answer, because the answer depends on you.
The way this works: I will post a short story, told from the second person, which only goes up to a certain point (usually that point will be a climax). The end of the story asks you, what do you do next? And you need to answer that question. There will be two example answers given to help get you in the right state of thinking. The stories are designed to eliminate conventional thinking so that you need to think unconventionally to figure out your answer. And there is never just one right answer, because the answer depends on you.
I'll keep posting new ones, so if you like this then check back frequently!Mind Game #1 -- 3 Wishes wrote:You come across a battered brass lamp lying in the gutter on a big street in the city. You decide to pick it up and take it with you -- who knows, it might be worth some money. Once you get home, you wait until you're alone before you take it out and try to clean it off.
When you scrub it, an immense, powerful genie curls out from the opening like smoke.
"Human," he says, "You have freed me from my prison of a thousand years. In return, I will grant you three wishes. Ask for anything you want."
You can tell just by looking at him that this genie has immense power as well as immense size. If you were to wish for it, he wouldn't just turn a person into a newt, he'd turn the entire population of the earth into newts! You know that, no matter how immense the task you ask of him, he could do it easily.
He also doesn't seem terribly bright. You decide to try outsmarting him -- with this plan, you'll only need two wishes, so you might even end up in good standing with this incredibly powerful being afterwards!
After thinking about how to word the two wishes, you start. "My first wish is for everything I have ever wanted." Instantly, everything you have ever wanted, for yourself or anyone else, you have (and/or they have it, if you ever wanted it for them). If you've ever wanted a global thing, like world peace, an end to world hunger, a stop to global warming, or just for everyone to be happy, that's true now too.
Your second wish is for "Everything I ever will want." And instantly you have all of that, too.
You stay quiet for a while. Eventually the genie asks "What is your third wish, master? You know that your wish is my command. Ask for anything that you want -- the only thing I cannot grant you is my service after this wish is granted."
You tell him: "You have already given me everything I want and everything I ever shall want. I have no need of a third wish."
The genie smirks slightly. "You are foolish, human. I said I would grant you three wishes, not two. If you do not make your third wish I will have to take the first two away."
You need to make your third wish. It has to be something that you didn't already get from your first two wishes. Apart from that it could be anything -- something as frivolous as "Put my shadow at a right angle to everyone else's", or as world-altering as "Turn all humans into furries with animals based on their personality". Think unconventionally.
What is your third wish?
. Nice try.