Paper Airplane: A Lesson for Flying Outside the Box

I've checked this book out from the library more than once. It's a good "thinking outside the box" guide. Maybe one day I'll buy my own copy.

Paper Airplane is one of the best books I've ever read-and re-read too. More than inspiring, it teaches the power of creative thinking in a profound way. To this point, Publishers Weekly's review shows how blinded we can become to new possibilities. The review actually says, "McMillan himself admits in a short introduction that 'the information about aerodynamics + flying is somewhat limited.'" That's because it is. The book is about vision, courage and change as he also "admits." "The world around us" is changing and Paper Airplane brilliantly shows the very real effects a paradigm shift can bring. It also teaches that new solutions don't always require "da Vincian assessment." Creative ideas can come from anyone-even those people the reviewer discounts. Without realizing it, the reviewer's assumptions and stereotypes prove McMillan's point-we can all use "a lesson in flying outside the box"-Publisher's Weekly included.

This would make an excellent coffee table book for the waiting room or office of a consultant, or teacher, or artist, or anyone who likes to think about thinking. The author, who is a design consultant by trade, has designed an intriguing story about thinking outside the box. The ending could easily be condemned as a cheap shot, but then again, why hadn't anyone else thought to simply ####### their paper to make their "plane" fly further. Therein lies the beauty of any solution that clearly falls outside the box -- easy to see in retrospect, challenging to forward project. This quick read is capped with some simple rules for helping one to achieve that creative state so highly prized. A creative variety of graphics illustrate this story whose mystery will intrigue ages 8-80.