[avant-garde]

As the question presents itself...

[_dax_]

You seem to like creating lots of discussion threads, don't you?
Interested in what your answer would be.

At the top of my head, thinking outside the box means:

Thinking in a different perspective or environment
Taking the path less ridden
Creating more possible outcomes rather than one
Enabling flexibility in all points of problem solving
Brainstorming creatively to discover a unique idea, design, product etc
Keeping an open mind to new discoveries
Working around differences and not allowing it to cloud your thoughts into ignorance

The list can go on.
Everyone has a different understanding of this expression, yet I think I can agree that it is a positive one.

[awdark]

It means you should think differently, perhaps you should think outside the box and make a topic called "a prompt a day" or something and fill it with all of these blog like posts so people can reply as you add more to it.

[V-ni@star]

something innovative and creative..
i'm an architect for me, it is it...

[Mr Boo Boo]

by stepping out of the box and think of something that no one in the group have thought of yet.
to be a open mind about everything

[Hax]

I'm just waiting for everyone to think outside the box so that way of thinking becomes the box and my way of thinking (the old way) becomes the innovative path!

[jesus.shuttlesworth]

a terrible cliche that should be avoided

[HERMIT]

It means you should think differently, perhaps you should think outside the box and make a topic called "a prompt a day" or something and fill it with all of these blog like posts so people can reply as you add more to it.

awdark has a point here. Seriously, you should do what this topic title states by thinking "outside the box" and creating your own thread where you can post all your various philosophical musings and questions and not take up subforum space. If j79 can have his own "Jack's Bar & Grill" topic, I can't see why you can't have an "avant-garde's musings" thread. If it takes off, it could eventually end up being your very own pinned topic.

Now, in response to the topic question, I guess I have a number of idiotic definitions that only I could offer:

1. Something Pandora should have done.
2. Playing heads up hockey and not making stupid penalties.
3. Something that's not often done by inept UPS deliverymen.
4. That last second scrutinization on whether you should proceed with oral sex on the girl you just picked up from the club.
5. What homeless people seem to be doing outside of their makeshift dwellings.
6. Mulling over the drive-thru menu at a certain fast food restaurant run by the guy with a big round head and a dunce cap.
7. What John McCain wasn't allowed to do while captive in Vietnam.

[jesus.shuttlesworth]

awdark has a point here. Seriously, you should do what this topic title states by thinking "outside the box" and creating your own thread where you can post all your various philosophical musings and questions and not take up subforum space. If j79 can have his own "Jack's Bar & Grill" topic, I can't see why you can't have an "avant-garde's musings" thread. If it takes off, it could eventually end up being your very own pinned topic.

Now, in response to the topic question, I guess I have a number of idiotic definitions that only I could offer:

1. Something Pandora should have done.
2. Playing heads up hockey and not making stupid penalties.
3. Something that's not often done by inept UPS deliverymen.
4. That last second scrutinization on whether you should proceed with oral sex on the girl you just picked up from the club.
5. What homeless people seem to be doing outside of their makeshift dwellings.
6. Mulling over the drive-thru menu at a certain fast food restaurant run by the guy with a big round head and a dunce cap.
7. What John McCain wasn't allowed to do while captive in Vietnam.

that's john teshing disgusting, are you serious? post club pre shower box? i wouldnt even do that for my gf

[UglyIsBeautiful]

it means being original. most people think that "thinking outside the box" means coming up with radical solutions to problems. That's BS. Because the best solutions are also often the most simple and is in line with common sense.

[avant-garde]

^ like math and logic. unfortunately, many people refuse to believe that there's any creativity in that.

[G4nismo]

this has got to be the stupidest thread i've seen in a while. i'm not even going to elaborate myself why it is...

[avant-garde]

the stupidest people i've encountered are the people who post in stupid threads saying "this is the stupidest thread i've ever seen"

[lost!gnecco]

I go by the saying that everything's been done before. To me, thinking outside of the box means to apply what's been done before to a situation/etc. (that's different from whatever idea is raised at that moment). Sure, the idea may seem original, but you're just putting together ideas you've seen or heard to create a new idea... but that idea's probably been done before too.

[HSuke]

this has got to be the stupidest thread i've seen in a while. i'm not even going to elaborate myself why it is...

Fail. Take a look at Hermit's post. That's thinking outside the box.

Actually, I'm working on a layman's guide to get the most out of life without having to think outside the box. People often don't invest time in coming up with innovative solutions to solve their problems. In addition, these breakthroughs occur very rarely. So I thought: instead of telling them to think outside the box, why not just train them to maximize their potential while working within their limits. Simple, and practical.

[Pogichinoy]

To me it means to ponder about things in a different perspective or situation.

[brownman90561495]

this has got to be the stupidest thread i've seen in a while. i'm not even going to elaborate myself why it is...

this is an example of "not-thinking-outside-the-box" reaction. we all know its direct connotation, but maybe the OP is trying to define the cliche "thinking outside the box" by "thinking outside the box".

keep yer minds open friends

[lemoncake0910]

It means... to try to look at things in a different perspective and draw conclusions from that perspective.
Now that I think of it, I've NEVER used this figure of speech statement/idiom in my daily speech with anybody.

awdark has a point here. Seriously, you should do what this topic title states by thinking "outside the box" and creating your own thread where you can post all your various philosophical musings and questions and not take up subforum space. If j79 can have his own "Jack's Bar & Grill" topic, I can't see why you can't have an "avant-garde's musings" thread. If it takes off, it could eventually end up being your very own pinned topic.

Now, in response to the topic question, I guess I have a number of idiotic definitions that only I could offer:

1. Something Pandora should have done.
2. Playing heads up hockey and not making stupid penalties.
3. Something that's not often done by inept UPS deliverymen.
4. That last second scrutinization on whether you should proceed with oral sex on the girl you just picked up from the club.
5. What homeless people seem to be doing outside of their makeshift dwellings.
6. Mulling over the drive-thru menu at a certain fast food restaurant run by the guy with a big round head and a dunce cap.
7. What John McCain wasn't allowed to do while captive in Vietnam.

LOL.
especially #6.
whenever someone uses the "thinking outside the box" statement, an image of a 'jack-in-a-box'... or that 'jack-in-a-box' restaurant logo man (although I'm not from the U.S) comes to my mind. yea, i'm weird. >_>

[MiddleMan]

When you make a mistake, and sometime you can say, "Well, I was thinking outside of the box."

[GoodAsianDriver]

I wanted to post just two words, but soompi won't let me. Anyway, contemplate:

"paradigm shift."