The power of an idea

[razz]

I loved this concept. I get so tired of the usual ranting and raving over things that make no difference to anyone but the self-centred (not pointing fingers at any one, BTW). Why can't we talk about ideas instead of the latest trash from the media? Isn't this an amazing idea to explore?:devil:

What is the powerhttp://https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-power-of-an-idea-How-can-an-ideas-value-be-assessed of an idea? How can an idea's value be assessed?

Ah… there’s a question. This of course goes to the heart of our mission. In principle an idea has unlimited power. Let’s see:

It can change someone’s behavior both immediately and years into the future.
It can excite someone enough to want to share it with other people.
In today’s world it can spread across the Internet at the speed of light, and spawn itself millions of times over at almost zero cost.
It can gain power as it grows in subtlety and expression.
It can outlive (by centuries) the human in whose mind it originated.
As for how you assess the power of idea? No formal way. Sometimes it’s not clear for decades or centuries. Many of the greatest inventions of the last hundred years were barely noted when they first emerged. Ideas need constant testing, challenging, championing and nurturing.

Politicians come and go. Ideas last forever. I truly believe that history is shaped more decisively and powerfully by ideas than by individuals. It’s no accident that the same things get invented around the same time by numerous individuals. It truly means something to refer to an idea “whose time has come”.

[Williamsmith]

" It’s no accident that the same things get invented around the same time by numerous individuals."

Last winter I read several books on Sir Isaac Newton. It was fascinating to learn about his development of calculus and the dispute with Liebniz regarding who actually described it in writing first. In the day, of course being published was the only way to gain acceptance but often people would write portions of their theories in letters to other acquaintances. Those letters could be strictly protected by recipients or shared with others.

I do agree that a simple idea is like a seed. In my youth, I used to imagine changing the world with an idea. Now that I am mature I realize that just making a difference in my neighborhood is just fine.

[ToomuchStuff]

I do agree that a simple idea is like a seed. In my youth, I used to imagine changing the world with an idea.
The idea, like the seed, does no one any good, without implementing/planting it.
Without action, isn't an idea, worth the cost it took to get it?

[razz]

An idea has no limits. Once released, it unfolds and emerges in demonstration even in the most minute fashion. We are governed by ideas, some fresh and new and others, tried and true. The trick is to analyze to see if it aligns with one's values or is contrary. Without an idea of a sense of worth, one is easily controlled but with a sense of worth, one is less easily controlled or manipulated.

[SteveinMN]

The trick is to analyze to see if it aligns with one's values or is contrary. Without an idea of a sense of worth, one is easily controlled but with a sense of worth, one is less easily controlled or manipulated.
razz, please expand on this. When I first read it, I had a strong reaction to it. But on rereading, I'm not clear on what you're saying.

[frugal-one]

For some reason, I could not open your link??? Not sure if this qualifies as to what you are saying but found this exciting none the less....

Recently while out walking the recreational trails, I ran across a guy I used to work with. We started talking and I told him how we (DH and I) were retired and all the things we were doing. The next time I saw him, he was really excited and told me he thought about what I said and was going to implement many of the ideas I talked about and try to retire in 7 years. He said he had never really seriously thought it through but had the impetus after talking with me. Wow...

[razz]

EG - There are those who have a poor sense of their own value. They feel that their opinions are not worth offering so a dominant personality can more readily control them.
Give them the concept, the idea, that each person has value and some unique contribution to make; if they realize and make this idea their own, it frees them to work to fulfil their potential. It starts with a new idea that is accepted into thought modifying it and then acted upon. Ideas have enormous power even to the simplest little things each day. Makes life an adventure.


razz, please expand on this. When I first read it, I had a strong reaction to it. But on rereading, I'm not clear on what you're saying.

[razz]

I just tried the link and the webpage comes up but not the article. Not sure why not. A quirk maybe?

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-power-of-an-idea-How-can-an-ideas-value-be-assessed

[SteveinMN]

Thanks, razz. That helped.


The trick is to analyze to see if [an idea] aligns with one's values or is contrary.
That's the statement that started me thinking. As I look back, some of the ideas that unlocked the most in my life were the ones which were contrary to my values at the time.

As for instilling the power of an idea in others, like frugal-one, I'm pleasantly surprised when someone comments on an idea I gave them that changed things for them significantly. Not an issue of self-esteem (for me); just a sense of surprise that anyone listens that closely. :)

[razz]

A contrary-to-values idea can be the very challenge that one needs to grow. Growth may be to examine personal values more closely. Do I really believe this or just adopted the familiar? College is one place to do this but I have found that volunteer organizations have given me far more food for thought.