Break free of the procession poppycock

I heard from Amanda during our weekly socials, about the 'Processional Caterpillars'. The thought that she shared with us was pretty interesting and hence what better way to share it with others, than through this blog post.

Just like the ant colonies and the bee colonies, these caterpillar colonies are some of the most advanced social cultures in the animal kingdom. Click here to read more about the social characteristics of this little creature.

But what intrigued me most was just like ants how these caterpillars too walked head to tail behind each other in a single line, following the path laid down by their leader.

You can watch a video shot of the caterpillars walking behind each other in the link provided above and also in this Youtube video link.

A biologist once experimented with these processional caterpillars. He lined up the caterpillars on the rim of a pot that held a plant so that the lead caterpillar was head to tail with the last caterpillar, with no break with the parade. The tiny creatures walked around the rim of the pot for a full week before they died of exhaustion and starvation. Not once did any of the caterpillars break out of the line and venture over into the plant to eat. Food was only inches away, but the follow the leader instinct was even stronger than the drive to eat and survive!

This example is used by many organizational behavior experts to demonstrate the difference between 'Productive' thinking and 'Reproductive' thinking.

Productive thinking or Creative thinking would mean to break out of the mould - just like it would have done good for the caterpillars to break out of their Procession rigmarole and scout for food on their own, rather than depend on their leader to take them to the food. The power of productive thinking lies in its potential to increase your chances of finding, developing, and ultimately implementing unexpected connections.

On the other hand, Reproductive thinking would mean following well worn patterns which is what most of us do most of the time, and churning out products and babies one after the other. As a society, mankind has evolved so much over the ages that there are processes and rules and set patterns laid down which most of us follow most of the time. Don't get me wrong. Not that this is not needed, in fact, it is absolutely essential for the smooth and harmonious running of our day-to-day activities.

However, the tethering effect of following well-worn patterns can be a major barrier to Creative thinking. In India, elephant wranglers, or mahouts, prevent elephant calves from wandering by chaining one of the animal’s legs to a stake deeply embedded in the ground. Try as they might, the young elephants aren’t strong enough either to break their chains or dislodge the stake. Attempting to do so is not only fruitless but uncomfortable as the chain tightens around their legs. Pretty soon they stop trying. As adults, elephants are kept in place with a length of woven hemp (much cheaper and more convenient than a chain) tied to a stake hammered into the ground with a few strokes. Full-grown elephants can pull away from their tethers easily, but they don’t. They have a deeply ingrained pattern that tells them that escape is impossible. For the elephants, the pattern has become more powerful than the data. (This example is quoted from the book 'Think Better')

There is a time and place for both Productive and Reproductive thinking. When stuck in a jam and things do not seem to be moving forward, we need to put on our creative hats and think better. But Creative thinking is not an art that you can learn in a single day. Rather it requires practice, and the more we try and think logically and creatively on a daily basis, the easier it is to put this thinking hat on, when facing difficult circumstances.

(The book Think Better suggests some basic ways and means in getting used to the idea of Productive Thinking.

P.S.: This is not a sales pitch for the book, I am yet to read it. I am just fascinated by the Productive v/s Reproductive Thinking approach)