Does 'opposite' and 'reversing' have the same meaning?

Just as McClure invented GPS by thinking in the ( ) direction of Guier and Weiffenbach’s ideas, we can come up with creative discoveries by looking at things with new eyes.

Hi, everyone! I need your help.

I wonder if 'reversing' can also work in the blank above. I already looked up in Google, and there are many examples of 'thinking in the opposite direction' or 'thinking in the reverse direction'. However, the only example of 'in the reversing direction' on Google is all about vehicles going backward, just like the sentence below.

• If the system determines a possible collision with an object in the reversing direction, automatic deceleration will be activated. Also, beeping sounds will activate.

But the sentence on top is not about the observable physical movement, but about the abstract notion. So in my opinion, 'reversing' would not be the right word for the blank. But I'm not 100% sure, so I'm asking for your insight. Any ideas are welcome!