How to Exercise Dogs and Minds

THE problem is not the most serious that mankind faces, but it is intriguing enough: How would you design a dog-exercising machine? As part of a research project on the way humans think, British Psychologist Edward de Bono recently gave that assignment to readers of the British education magazine Where. The first 72 answers were from children aged four to 14. attending schools in both the United Kingdom and its former overseas territories. The unedited results, along with De Bono's commentary, are contained in an offbeat and fascinating new book entitled, naturally. The Dog Exercising Machine (Simon & Schuster; $3.95).

Although often strikingly different, the children's designs fell into several definable patterns (see cuts). Many instinctively thought of using robots. Others favored obstacle courses and recreational parks with equipment that would both intrigue and energize a dog. One child's park had a catapult that hurled magnetized dog biscuits, which dogs chased as the biscuits automatically flew back. Several children proposed motorized treadmills, one of which was patrolled by four armed guards to keep the poor pooch from running off it. Another treadmill design featured a screen on which a movie of a rabbit was projected while air blowers bombarded the dog with bunny scent. A girl put her pet on springs that jiggled its feet. A device that pulled dogs along was propelled by an ingenious power plant: the energy was created by the dog's barking into a speaking tube. Only one machine threatened punishment, using a hammer to whack a dog on the back if it refused to exercise.

The point of the experiment, De Bono explains, is that since there is no such thing as a dog-exercising machine, the children had to invent one from their own resources rather than rely on adult-imposed knowledge and experience, which often block creativity. The humorous but logical drawings, he believes, provide further proof that children are good at generating original ideas. The results are so refreshing, in fact, that many adult readers will surely be tempted to try designing a dog-exercising machine themselves.

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