<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/534bf6c0eab8ea4a29263a81-1200-600/michael-lewis-10.png" border="0" alt="Michael Lewis ">Reuters/Lucas JacksonAuthor Michael Lewis says that people join Wall Street because they're no good at original thinking. We're here to correct that.</img></div></div></div>Coming up with original ideas - thinking outside the box, if you will - is hard to do, even for the highest-achieving among us. 
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Boys-Michael-Lewis/dp/0393244660" target="_blank">"Flash Boys"</a> author Michael Lewis <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-lewis-wall-street-2014-9">says</a> that Ivy Leaguers flock to Wall Street because that's where they can become high-status and uber-rich without needing to think of anything new. 
If you, like the bankers Lewis calls out, need fresh ideas, turn to Quora. The discussion-heavy site <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-easy-things-that-anyone-can-do-to-keep-improving-their-intelligence/" target="_blank">has recently had</a> <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-good-ways-to-broaden-thinking-ability" target="_blank">a few threads</a> loaded with insights on broadening your thinking. 
Here are the best tips. 
Start thinking about lateral thinking. "Lateral thinking is when an assumption that most people believe is true is challenged, leading to a new line of thought that would probably not have been considered otherwise," <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-good-ways-to-broaden-thinking-ability/answer/Anirudh-Joshi" target="_blank">explains Anirudh Joshi</a>. He suggests considering what folks thought about the PC when it first came out - a toy for geeks that wouldn't do anything helpful. But people who challenged that assumption and bet on the PC became legends: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the rest. 
This, by the way, is what billionaire investor Peter Thiel trains readers to do in his new book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_5?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=zero%20to%20one&amp;sprefix=zero+%2Cstripbooks%2C151" target="_blank">Zero to One</a>." His favorite question: What is one thing you believe to be true that most do not?
Open up your experiences. "Your thinking will always be limited to your own opinions and experience," <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-ways-to-broaden-your-thinking-ability/answer/Alexandra-Damsker" target="_blank">says Alexandra Damsker</a>. "So expand your worldview, experience, and opinions as much as possible." 
Her recommendations: Listen when people speak, rather than waiting to talk. Give your opinions, engage in arguments, and revise your perspectives. Seek out people with different backgrounds than yours. Take an art class, a comedy class, or go to concerts you'd usually skip. 
"Be in your world," she says. 
Read aggressively. "You just won't have the time to broaden your thinking by experiencing things all by yourself," <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-good-ways-to-broaden-thinking-ability/answer/Thyag-Sundaramoorthy" target="_blank">says Thyag Sundaramoorthy</a>. "You have to draw from other's experiences as well - and that's why books are written."
The key, however, is to not just reinforce your already great opinions, but to refine them through taking in the other view. 
"If you are an atheist, read about Eastern spirituality," he says. "If you are a strong believer, read [outspoken evolutionary biologist] Richard Dawkins." 
Journal. Writing down your thoughts is a great tool for problem solving," <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-easy-things-that-anyone-can-do-to-keep-improving-their-intelligence/answer/Vinu-Cherian" target="_blank">says Vinu Cherian</a>. "Every journal session I have, I leave amazed with the answers to tough problems I can come up with." 
Journaling - reflecting on your experiences, disclosing your feelings, and finding meaning in them - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-positive-effects-of-journaling-and-expressive-writing-2014-5">has been shown</a> to improve your "working memory," or the number of things you can hold in your mind at a time, which should help with the lateral thinking. A bonus: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-15-minute-activity-will-make-you-more-successful-at-work-2014-5">Only 15 minutes of journaling can make you better at your job</a>. 
Study great minds. "Choose people who embody what you are trying to become and study them," <a href="http://qr.ae/Z9o48">says Roy Bauman, Jr</a>. "How do they make their decisions? What do they believe in? Why do they act the way they do?" 
Studying those lives can teach you patterns of success and expand your perspectives. We've done some homework for you: Consider how people as diverse as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/teddy-roosevelt-quotes-2014-9">Teddy Roosevelt</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-quotes-women-careers-2014-8?op=1">Sheryl Sandberg</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-quotes-2014-8">Stephen Hawking</a> engage the world. 
Learn to think ahead. "People that are great at solving problems and, most importantly, preventing them are great at thinking ahead," Bauman says. 
His recommendation: Start playing chess, since it teaches you to think a few turns ahead in the game and in life. There's a reason <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/29-executives-who-are-exceptional-at-chess-2012-7?op=1">28 of the world's standout executives also happen to be phenomenal chess players</a>. 
Stay humble. "I've seen way too many pseudo-intellectuals vomiting out pages of facts and figures in an attempt to convince others of their intellectual ability," <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-easy-things-that-anyone-can-do-to-keep-improving-their-intelligence/answer/Quah-Xin-Ze" target="_blank">says Quah Xin Ze</a>. "Intelligence is something you wish to gain for the sake of improving yourself and not trying to make a point to your peers." 
And <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-win-an-argument-2014-5">research shows</a> that the more certain you are of your perspective, the less you'll be able to receive new ideas - closing yourself off that lateral thinking.

7 Simple Ways To Expand Your Thinking And Find Original Ideas 

Fake blood is an essential accessory if you're going for a gory halloween look with your costume this year. There's a lot of chemistry in the substance it sets out to mimic; we can explain the colour, smell, and different types of blood with the aid of chemistry (and some biology thrown in for good measure).Today's graphic takes a look at each in turn.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5633e24fbd86ef175c8bb264-1323-935/chemistry-of-blood.png" alt="Chemistry of Blood" data-mce-source="Compound Interest" data-link="http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/10/29/blood/" /><a href="http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/10/29/blood/">Compound Interest</a></div></div></div>The chemistry behind blood's colour is perhaps that we're all most familiar with. Most of us are aware that blood contains haemoglobin; this is the protein, found within red blood cells, that enables our blood to carry oxygen to our cells. It also helps carry some carbon dioxide back to the lungs, in the form of carbaminohaemoglobin, though the majority of carbon dioxide is carried in the blood as bicarbonate ions.The red colouration of blood is due to the sub-units of the haemoglobin protein. Each of the four sub-unit consists of a protein chain which is bound to a ham group. It is these ham groups, which contain bound iron atoms, that cause blood's dark red colour. Their structure of alternating double and single bonds absorbs light of particular wavelengths, causing us to see it as red. Red isn't actually the only possible blood colour; <a href="http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/28/coloursofblood/">some animals can have green, blue, or even purple blood</a>, due the the use of different oxygen-carrying proteins.A common misconception about our blood is that deoxygenated blood (that which flows back from our cells through out veins) is blue. Veins do appear blue when we look at them through our skin, so it's perfectly understandable that a lot of people think that this is the case; also, pick up any biology textbook, and the likelihood is that in a diagram depicting blood vessels the veins will be denoted with a blue colouration.Whereas oxygenated haemoglobin is a bright red, deoxygenated haemoglobin is a darker red colour - but not blue! The reason that blood appears blue when we look at our veins through our skin is due to the interaction of light with both our blood and the skin covering the blood vessels. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/561549739dd7cc22008c0078-1000-720/shutterstock_57135364.jpg" alt="blood" data-mce-source="EmiliaUngur/shutterstock" data-link="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-57135364/stock-photo-blood-test-tube-in-a-woman-s-hands.html?src=ukgJvifxJ8yZ38j8--dlag-1-0" /><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-57135364/stock-photo-blood-test-tube-in-a-woman-s-hands.html?src=ukgJvifxJ8yZ38j8--dlag-1-0">EmiliaUngur/shutterstock</a></div></div></div>Red light can penetrate more deeply into our tissues than blue light, and since deoxygenated blood absorbs more red light than oxygenated blood, our veins tend to look blue as a result.Haemoglobin can also help us explain the colour change we see in blood when it's removed from the body. If you've ever had a nose bleed, you'll have probably noticed that any blood you stem with a tissue turns a dark brown colour as it dries. This is due to the oxidation of the iron atoms in the haemoglobin subunits, from iron (II) to iron (III), producing methaemoglobin which is a dark brown colour.If you've ever, say, accidentally bitten your tongue, you'll have also noticed that blood has a somewhat metallic taste. This is in part due to the presence of the iron in haemoglobin; it can also react with fat molecules to produce a range of compounds that help to produce a metallic flavour.The compounds created include oct-1-en-3-one, which is described as having a mushroom-like, metallic odour. This is also the compound behind the metallic smell you can detect on your skin after touching metal objects - so in these cases it's not the metal you're smelling, but chemical breakdown products of molecules in your own skin.Blood itself smells metallic all on its own. Researchers have determined that a particular compound in blood that contributes this faint metallic odour, trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal, is also an important compound detected by predators. A study last year identified the compound, then ran a number of tests with different predators where they soaked logs in the compound, as well as soaking other logs in actual blood, fruit-essence, and an almost odourless compound. They found that the predators were attracted to the log soaked in trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal as much as that soaked in actual blood.Though all of our blood is coloured by haemoglobin, and blood from different people will produce the same metallic smell, there are still differences in blood from one person to the next. We commonly refer to these differences as blood types. There are actually lots of different blood types (35 are recognised by the International Society of Blood Transfusion) but there are essentially two classifications that we usually refer to.The first of these classifications is the ABO system. A person can have type A, type B, type AB or type O blood. This classification is determined by the presence of antigens, which are structures found on the surface of red blood cells. They are either sugars or proteins, and the types of antigens present in a person's blood determines their blood type.Type A blood has A antigens on the red blood cells; type B blood has B antigens. Type AB blood has both A and B antigens, whereas type O blood has neither. Our own blood antigens are ignored by our own immune system; however, if, during a transfusion, we receive blood containing an antigen not found in our own blood, it can trigger an adverse immune reaction.Our blood also contains antibodies; these are proteins in blood plasma that help to fight infection. In most transfusions, it is only the red blood cells that are transferred from the donor's blood to the recipient. If these red blood cells have antigens that match to an antibody in the recipient's blood, the antigens bind to the antibodies, and the adverse reaction is set into motion. This is why people with some blood types can only receive blood from certain other blood types.O group blood is known as the universal donor, because, since its red blood cells don't contain A or B antigens, it can be safely given to recipients with any blood type. Similarly, group AB blood is known as the universal acceptor, because it doesn't contain A or B antibodies, so no reaction will be triggered even if blood with A or B antigens is given.Blood type can also be termed as positive (e.g. A+) or negative (A-). This refers to the presence or absence of Rh antigens on the red blood cells, and is also something that must be considered during blood transfusions. Rh positive blood cannot be given to Rh negative recipients, as the recipient can develop Rh antibodies which can then attack the donated blood. People with Rh positive blood can receive blood from either Rh positive or Rh negative donors.This is all a little bit confusing to get your head around, so <a href="https://www.scotblood.co.uk/learn-about-blood/are-you-the-type-to-save-a-life.aspx">here's a handy diagram</a> which shows which blood types can be given to patients with a particular blood type.To conclude (and point out the obvious), of course the fake blood we'll all be using for Halloween chemically doesn't have a whole lot in common with actual blood. The red colouration usually comes from red food colouring, and some gloopiness is added via the addition of some form of sugar syrup. There are also numerous suggested recipes for making your own online which use cornflour to thicken it up and give it a more congealed look. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-dawkins-religion-science-america-holding-back-god-innovation-education-2015-10">Richard Dawkins: Religion is holding America back</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="p3azVoeDp7FSRYoSCgp7ZJmK2HrwyLdM" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'p3azVoeDp7FSRYoSCgp7ZJmK2HrwyLdM',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

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7 Simple Ways To Expand Your Thinking And Find Original Ideas

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