Lateral thinking is a term invented by Edward de Bono, a Maltese psychologist, physician and writer. It first appeared in the title of his book "The Use of Lateral Thinking", published in 1967. De Bono explains lateral thinking as methods of thinking about changing concepts and perception. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. 