Think Sideways

See also: LateralThinking, ThinkingOutOfTheBox, FalseDichotomy.

• The problem appears to have two sides, neither of which seems very satisfactory.
• The problem appears to be a continuum with two extremes, and neither extreme seems satisfactory, but everything in between seems even less satisfactory.

Therefore:

Try to imagine hidden variables that might break the problem out of the FalseDichotomy or FalseContinuum. In other words, if both directions seem ugly, ThinkSideways.

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I HaveThisPattern often when debating politics and philosophy. False Dichotomies are everywhere. -- RobHarwood

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The classic thinking sideways when the option ahead of you seems to be illogical or impossible, think sideways to get around your problems, look for answers that aren't obvious and may seem like a strange course of action, they often work better than you think they might.