Six Frames
by Edward de Bono
Vermilion, HK$153
Six Frames should really be a chapter in a book. Dreamed up by Edward de Bono, it will be of interest to fans of his Six Thinking Hats idea, which encourages lateral thinking. His latest technique - which uses the square, triangle, circle, diamond, heart and rectangle - attempts to focus our attention. He says those who want to function more effectively should focus on what is important. He believes that by using the different 'frames' we will be able to assess information: the triangular frame helps define purpose, the circular frame gauges accuracy, the square frame shows that other points of view should be considered, the heart frame reminds you of special interests, the diamond frame allows value to be assessed and the rectangle is a 'slab' or platform on which to lay out conclusions. By engaging the square, for instance, a reader could think about whether to accept as fact research that shows people who smoke a lot of cannabis have an increased chance of developing schizophrenia. It could be that those with a schizophrenic tendency enjoy weed. Some observations are worth paying for, but HK$153 is steep for a slight volume whose pages are consumed by simple graphics.