The Creative Contrarian

Part IMeet the Wise Fool

“Jesters do oft prove prophets.”

— William Shakespeare, English Playwright

1. What Does the Wise Fool Do?

Let's suppose that you're dealing with a challenging issue and it resists your best efforts. You feel like you are doing everything “right” but things just aren't flowing. Perhaps your imagination is off or your powers of discernment aren't focused. You've tried various techniques to jump-start your creative process, but you still feel stuck. You think to yourself:

Who can give me a different perspective?

One answer is to do what problem solvers and decision makers since the dawn of civilization have done to stimulate their imaginations and improve their judgment:

Ask a Wise Fool what he thinks.

Wise Fools were consulted by Egyptian pharaohs and Babylonian kings. Their ideas were sought by Greek tyrants and Roman emperors. They advised Persian sultans, and also chiefs in the Pueblo, Hopi, and Sioux nations. They played an important role at the courts of the Chinese emperors, and were prominently employed by European royalty in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.^*

What did these Wise Fools do? Put very simply, it was their job to “whack” the king's thinking out of his habitual thought patterns. The king's advisers were often “yes-men” and sycophants who told him exactly what he wanted to hear. The king realized that this wasn't a good environment ...