Smoking a cigarette is like talking to your mother-in-law because…
Once upon a time, many years ago, in prehistoric times, at a time when there were no cities, no buildings and perhaps even no villages, there was a hunter. He had had a successful day and was walking through a forest back to his tribe. He had slung a deer across his shoulder with some homemade rope. He was walking fast because it was close to evening. He came across a branch of tree lying on the ground. He casually picked it up and held it in his other hand for support. To his surprise, the branch was not as sturdy as some of the other sticks he had used for walking. It was a bit flexible. Whenever he put his weight on the stick, it bent a little. The hunter kept walking but did not throw away the branch. Then, suddenly he stopped. Something occurred to him. On an impulse, he threw down the deer, freed the rope, picked up the branch and looked at his rope again. He examined them for a moment and tied the two ends of the branch with the rope, thus inventing the bow. The hunter saw the connection between two seemingly unconnected things. He saw something which no one else had seen. He saw something which he himself had never seen before.
A branch of a tree is a branch of a tree. It has certain uses and that is that. A piece of rope is a piece of rope. It has certain uses and that is that. The preconceived notions about the branch of a tree and the piece of rope prevent us from seeing more into these objects and find some new connection. When we are free from our preconceptions, we have fresh perception and new possibilities open up in our thinking. That is what creativity is about – having fresh perceptions.
That fellow saw something which nobody else had seen. There are so many invisible connections around us and connections between hitherto unrelated things can be the source of new ideas!
Creativity is about making connections – as we saw in the example of the hunter. The ability to see a connection between seemingly unrelated things is a big advantage.
In everyday life we use metaphors to make connections between unrelated things. Metaphors are used to explain complex situations in an easy manner. Many metaphors are parts of our everyday usage – root of problem, heart of city. Most of us now recognize our heart as a ‘pump’ but that is a metaphor as well. Mind map is a metaphor! Metaphors help to communicate complex ideas in a short and sweet manner. A computer is a metaphor for our brain. It is so popular that we talk of processing power and our memory being short term or long term even though the way our brain works is very different from how the PC does. It helps to take ideas from one context and apply them to another context.
Metaphors provide us with a new way of looking at things. It is like watching a Manchester United Vs Liverpool match on TV with only ONE CAMERA feed and then suddenly we have more camera feeds as well! The two experiences are incomparable. Using metaphors provides us with new insights, leading to more ideas and better decisions.
Try and provide 5 different answers to each one of the following statements/questions.
And I am really looking forward to hearing what you have to say on this one:
Smoking a cigarette is like talking to your mother in law because…
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Smoking/MOther in law ——-
1) Because we hate doing both , but we have to do it.
2) Both are difficult to quit/ Staying away from both is equally difficult.
3) Trashing the cig and trashing the talk are also very similar.
wow—there really is lot of similarity.
…both are injurious to health!
you know nothing good will come out of it, but still you do it smiling!
they both kill you (slowly)
There’s fire at the other end!
The archeology tale is cheesy and unscientific, cut it off, it makes you sound like a cheap motivational consultant.
No trolling intended
… each one can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
I was not sure where you were going with this when I first read the title…very clever!
Both of them intensify your every thing in terms of all life & relations.
Life is like a curry puff – loks attractive from outside but carries a lot of junk too
It leaves you feeling relieved and rejuvenated!!!
nonstop puffing/listening to bickering increases your BP/heart rate and reduces your life span.
Cheers for Caroline’s Mom in law
Mothers in law are a side effect of evolution.
Older women helped with childcare, human children are dependant longer than the entire life of most other mammals. (apologies to anyone educated in the USA for using the “E” word.
On the other hand, smoking is a cause of evolution.
Children of smokersare vastly more likely to die from a variety of illnesses and a number are burned to death becsuse the dumb fucks can’t be bothered to put them out.
Almost all cot-deaths occur because parents let smokers into their homes, there are almost no cot deaths without a household member who lacks the brainpower to realisethat his inability to understand complex biological terms like “Smoking Kills” on packets of cigarettes hurts others.
Almost all those who die from drug abuse started as smokers of tobacco. Typically these are younger people who have yet to breed.
There is also strong autocorrelation in addiction to stupidity.
Partly that is children copying dumb parents, and of course intelligence itself has a strong genetic component.
Killing your children (or those of people related to you) is of course an unpleasant and distasteful way of improving the gene pool.
People who throw insults at others that smoke are no better than people who throw insults at people of different color or religion. I know this will be a difficult concept for most to understand or accept so let me make it simple. Discrimination is discrimination. How would you feel if, all of a sudden, people started hating people who ate pasta? Same thing folks. Think about it. Self rightenouess shoule have passed with the middle ages, yet it lingers on, promoted by people who feel themselves superior to anyone with habbits or beliefs, or color, or religion, or economic status, etc. they dislike or are afraid of. I expect that some of you will cry “this is different”, but sadly it is not. This is the same stuff that started WWII and sent millions to the gas chamber. Don’t be bigots. Please
I sense this chat’s gone off line, I enjoy smoking and conversations with my wife’s mum, but I rarely admit either – does that make me a dumb-ass Dom? Like your site and thoughts Shalu, thanks.
No comments as I neither smoke (thankfully) nor have a mother-in-law (regrettably). May her soul rest in peace.
I am sorry but I was not able to figure out any resemblance from the article and your posed question?
What I understand from the story is about creativity with physical materials. Creativity of thoughts with some irrelavant statements won’t beget creativity, instead arguments and counter arguments.
This might help small kids to improve their grammar or sentence writing or vocabulary, but maybe not us.
Sorry.
Smoking/MOther in law ——-
Xactly Both are difficult to quit/ Staying away from both is equally difficultbut its all depends on u.
I guess the creativity stuff that Shalu is alluding here using metaphors, seems to be what the folks in marketing/advertising employ to put forward their ideas and communicate effectively.
Right author? You need to throw some light on this.
They are both addictive (What?!?!?)
I enjoy doing both (Huh?!?!)
I have an oral fixation (Gross?!?!)
Right Abdul, advertising would perhaps not exist without metaphors!… The same metaphors that sell stuff worth billions can help in everyday life as well. being able to make connections between unrelated things is a great skill that never fails in generating new ideas
cigratte & Mother in law….both never leaves you..untill u die..
It all depends on the brand of Smoking and Mother-in-Law u indulge with. Be creative how you drive the smoke and Mother-i-nlaw out of your mind
Well..quite interesting article…
Here u go::
High oil prices are going on a diet because:Biofuels are IN.
Buying a car is like going to a circus because:Oils are going on Diet
Going for a batman movie is like going to office because: Its as complex as our assignments and Boss.
A job is like swimming pool because: now filling it with water depends on weather forecast.
How is motivating a sales team like plying with a 5 year old child because: Always have to offer lollipops.
Life is like a curry puff because: Tasty wen hot just like wonderful wen young wid a lot of healthy, unhealthy, desired and undesired stuff.
A curry puff is like a dustbin because: Is filled wid sumthing..
A dustbin is like a cow because: Does swallow whatever gets..n wont react also…
Cow is like alien because: I dont know..
Smoking and MIL- its all about the experience- some have it good others not so good; also in the beginning the experience is good bt as we do more of either, it can become bad or improve the way we look at the cigarette or MIL…it can also be the case of using one to tide over the other…experience and perception..no comparability
When both are close to you, Dont stay at home.
Smoking a cigarette is like talking to your mother in law because…if you don’t show them respect, one day they just might kill you.
http://www.itsanentrepreneursworld.com/
James Said: People who throw insults at others that smoke are no better than people who throw insults at people of different color or religion. I know this will be a difficult concept for most to understand or accept so let me make it simple. Discrimination is discrimination. How would you feel if, all of a sudden, people started hating people who ate pasta? Same thing folks. Think about it. Self rightenouess shoule have passed with the middle ages, yet it lingers on, promoted by people who feel themselves superior to anyone with habbits or beliefs, or color, or religion, or economic status, etc. they dislike or are afraid of. I expect that some of you will cry “this is different”, but sadly it is not. This is the same stuff that started WWII and sent millions to the gas chamber. Don’t be bigots. Please
Often the most insecure ones discriminate the most James!!!