Six Thinking Hats

The black hat is the “most used of all the hats” (71) and possibly the most important one. The hat of caution, it stands for being careful and avoiding doing things that are illegal, dangerous, or poisonous. It is an aid to survival.

De Bono claims that this hat is the basis of Western civilization, as it is rooted in critical thinking. Just as traditional Western argument points out how something is contradictory or inconsistent, the black hat shows how something doesn’t fit resources, policy, strategy, ethics, and values. The basis of the black hat is the mind’s “mismatch” mechanism, which compares something new to patterns of expectation formed by past experience. It creates discomfort and ensures that people don’t make mistakes.

It is important to allot a certain period of time to black hat thinking, so that members of a group are not constantly being critical. Cautious thinkers, however, often welcome the Six Hats method because it allows them to use their critical abilities while also giving them permission to move away from being cautious.

Black hat thinking is always logical, as it considers the dangers and difficulties in a situation. However, it is not balanced, because it sensitizes the brain to seek out possible dangers and obstacles.