The value of an idea
Measuring the value of an idea is like making a statement about the length of a piece of string. How long is a piece of string? It depends: they aren’t all the same. The same is true about ideas. Some are good, some are awful, and there’s a wide range of quality in between.
Some people think that ideas are a dime a dozen; in fact, I’ve had at least three new ideas in the three minutes that I’ve spent writing this post. I expect many more to follow. Most of those ideas will be next to worthless:
- impractical
- expensive
- time-consuming
- and of limited appeal to most normal people.
Perhaps I’ll have a really wonderful, brilliant, spectacular idea and heaven help me if I forget to write it down or else it’ll be lost in the ether, never to return.
Who know what brilliant concepts, works of art, etc. were lost due to forgetfulness? Author Garrison Keillor, in the introduction to Lake Wobegon Days, tells the tale of a magical, wonderful set of short stories that he wrote… and then forgot in a restroom while traveling. Apparently Lake Wobegon Days is not that batch of stories, but instead was the best he could come up with afterward. I don’t know that I believe this tale, but nonetheless it’s always interesting to think about what might have been or what might be.
If this blog post about the value of an idea seems a bit different from my normal blog posts, it’s because I’ve been listening to Stephen Fry’s Podgrams and I’m imagining that he’s dictating the blog post to me now. I can hear his voice sounding out each word as it appears on the computer screen. Well, not literally of course, but it is an exercise of imagination, after all, and thus I’m trying out an idea that I had and I’m just realizing that now.
This isn’t exactly a Flattery by Imitation post, but it’s not bad for a Friday, especially the one after the US Thanksgiving when a number of my readers may still be recovering from the lingering effects of Tryptophan induced coma.
Thank you for reading and I’ll lighten the load on your mind by ending this blog post with an idea (hah!) that I just had while finishing this blog post:
“I CAN HAZ TURKEE SAMMICH?”
gregg fraley:
The value of an idea often emerges over time. What seems odd now might later seem to be brilliant. What occurs to me as i read your post is that above all else, one should write down every idea they have. Keep a notebook, write them down, and review them now and again. This simple practice alone can make a person dramatically more effective as a creative person.
28 November 2008, 7:02 amMark Dykeman:
Indeed and thanks for stopping by!
28 November 2008, 7:06 amKimberly Bock:
An idea is never impractical.
If noted by the right ones, it can be expanded upon, rearranged, bent, twisted and molded into something completely different.
It takes a reader/hearer of the idea in question, to have an open inquisitive mind. One that doesn't know how to “settle” for 'deficits'.
29 November 2008, 11:03 amMark Dykeman:
But if it is changed into something workable, then is it the same idea?
29 November 2008, 5:51 pmKimberly Bock:
Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich..
The bread is still bread. The peanut butter is still peanut butter. Neither of them are any different that the original.
Not like typical media today, (social, TV, radio etc)..
Much of the media seem to enjoy distortion.
They have bread. They have peanut butter. When nobodys looking, they scrape the peanut butter off the bread and give us baloney instead.
29 November 2008, 6:31 pmWade:
Kimberly, respectfully I disagree. Ideas can often be impractical due to technology being insufficient at the time (think airplanes in the 1800's), lack of the necessary knowledge base or funds to properly market a concept, or even an idea that in itself is great – but easily stolen by well placed competitors.
Sorry to be negative, but this is a great post & discussion.
1 December 2008, 7:37 amKimberly Bock:
Great discussion and I agree. I don't take offense to disagreement, it's natural and makes the world go round. I can use your insight as pieces of a bigger picture. I learn from you too.
I was making reference only to the generalization of 'ideas'..
Ideas aren't impractical in and of themselves. Sometimes it takes quite a while for ideas to materialize, sometimes yes they are stolen (ok, maybe more than sometimes. It's already happened to me) sometimes they are improved upon by someone else etc..
When those things occur, it's not the ideas that were impractical, it's typically due to faulty implementation. or, sadly enough, because we trust in ones we shouldn't trust. (stolen ideas)
1 December 2008, 8:05 am