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The Three Magicians
Tools for Flexible Thinking
Our experience in applying and teaching system thinking methods shows
that in the beginning they may feel too abstract. In a collaborative innova-
tion environment, untrained participants might get confused and be unable
to contribute at the top of their abilities. To address this problem, we can
use the Three Magicians technique, which applies system-based concepts
in a concrete, graphical mode. The technique originated in system-oriented
methods for teaching storytelling to kindergarteners [16, p. 6], who have
yet to develop abstract thinking skills. Furthermore, the Magicians helped
kids ov ...