Divergent thinking exercise

This is a classic exercise that you can use either in groups or by yourself if you want to get your brain thinking in a more divergent way, or assess how divergent your thinking is generally.

The test is simple--just come up with as many practical uses for a paper clip as you can in 5 minutes. The story goes that children tend to be able to come up with dozens of uses, while the older we get the less we can think of. The hypothesis is that our thinking becomes more convergent or structured over time.

After you complete the exercise, think about how you came up with the ideas and, more importantly, how you can apply that kind of divergent thinking and metacognition to other areas of your life.