PROBLEM DEFINITION 210. Decide What Else is True Apply the improv principle “If this is true, what else is true” to your problem. Use it to generate thoughts on all aspects of the problem, not just the immediately obvious. If this is true, what else is true comes from the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, an improv theater and training center with locations in New York and Los Angeles. In improv, the idea is that if you’ve established something is true in a scene (e.g., there’s been a zombie apocalypse), you can generate comedy by thinking about what else would be true (e.g., the zombies would have to get jobs). In problem solving, this concept can help you better define your goal. If I’m a zombie and need a job, what else is true? Well I am a zombie, so my reaction time is slower and I have bad motor skills. Also I need money, so I probably have a certain kind of lifestyle I need to support. So I don’t just need a job. I need a job that covers my expenses, is OK if I move slowly, and doesn’t require 1 much brainpower. I need to be a congressman. 1 Oh, buurrrnnn. I’m kidding, I appreciate the hard work some of them do. 114