Edward De Bono has been a continuing source of inspiration for creative thinkers everywhere. In his Thinking Course book, he has a classic exposition about meta-thinking (or Blue-Hat thinking, as he calls it elsewhere):

"In looking at thinking, the following areas of observation come to mind:

blockages;
the recurrence of certain ideas;
emotional points;
possible difficulties in generating more alternatives;
blank spots;
other ways of looking at things;
the likelihood of a conclusion;
the identification of any sticking points;
difficulties in getting going;
finding a starting point;
etc." (p. 151)

"It is a useful exercise to write down a whole repertoire of these observations. It is only by stocking your mind with such concepts that it becomes possible to "observe" thinking." (p. 151)

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