Oblique Strategies: Brian Eno’s Prompts for Overcoming Creative Block

It seems a mistake to see these as tarot cards or the I Ching, etc. They are a way to short circuit paralysis due to over-thinking.

I wrote a little Python script to return a random one to stdout... too trivial to even post.

I like the reference to Bowie's "Heros" album in particular the song "Sense of Doubt" which is a great instrumental. I love that album and that song.

These are useful little aphorisms for when you are stuck. This article has a little background.

Eno, Bowie, et al also used it during the sessions for Low and Radiohead used it during the sessions for Kid A/Amnesiac. Its also related tangentially to Burroughs cut-up technique. Sources are the 33 1/3 book series on Low and Wikipedia, though I don't have links handy.

Really interesting to me. I like its paradoxical practicality. I'm sure it could be used for many different kinds of creative endeavors. Perhaps even software.