Сatena is an entertaining word game that helps develop creative thinking. Catena trains a free, associative style of thinking, and assists in observing both dominant patterns and vertical thinking. In also has many other uses.

I initially thought that I invented that game in 1990 when I served in Soviet Army, but it rather looks like I adapted it from some unknown source and gradually developed its rules. I took the name from philosophy — the term «Catena Mundi» was used by Descartes for describing a mystical chain that connects everything.

Here are some catenas:

• market, mist:
  market — forecast — mist,
  market — morning — mist
• mather, atom:
  mother — nature — physics — atom,
  mother — warmth — energy — atom
• Prague, stool:
  Prague — bar — stool
• euro, eternity:
  euro — coin — circle — eternity
• ticket, thought:
  ticket — road — crossword — thought

Give it a try — your feedback would be greatly appreciated!

There are many useful alternative reading techniques that may help you to find new ideas and develop your creativity.

1. Before you even open a book, try to compose its table of contents. (A preferable technique of Bernard Shaw). Besides developing your imagination, it’ll help you to recall and organize your knowledge on the subject and, therefore, to prepare yourself for better learning.
2. Stop at book’s middle and try to outline the rest of it.
3. Try reading only right pages of a book, thinking out what happens on left ones. The book’s plot will enrich :)
4. If in the course of reading there is described some problem, stop and try to find the solution before continue reading. (A preferable technique of John Kennedy).
5. Best solutions often come from unrelated areas. Try to ask yourself as often as possible if there are any analogies or other hints for realization of your priority tasks and solving problems. The more unrelated a book is to your task, the better the results.
6. Be a visionary. After finishing reading a book, go ahead and think out it’s sequel. Or, propose alternative versions of plot starting from some point.
7. Do a content analysis. What trends does the book speak about? What new business possibilities may be found there? What ideas you can adapt to your business?

And finally, an Einstein’s advice. “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”