The Perils of Genius Ideas

There is a famous thought experiment that asks: “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" I have come to think there is a similar themed question along the lines of “if a genius idea is put forward but nobody understands it, is it a good idea?”

It seems to me that history is replete with unsuccessful savants – gifted thinkers whose ideas had the potential to shape the world, but never did. True genius is rare, beautiful and something extraordinary to behold … if indeed one has the capacity to behold it. Often however, such ideas are beyond the grasp of us mere mortals and are perceived as puzzling and incomprehensible. Such ingredients do not a good recipe make. As with beauty, genius apparently is in the eye of the beholder.

I suggest that the ‘goodness’ of an idea is measured; not by its raw genius, but rather by the effect it has on the world. I contend that a simple idea brought to life is superior to a grand idea that is never realized. An idea that is not understood, not used and not enjoyed is not really a good idea at all. It may be a genius idea, but it is not a good idea.

I contend all of these things, yet at the same time it seems very limiting and even unjust. Measuring the goodness of ideas by how well they are comprehended and adopted by others means that we are forever relegated to ‘tinkering around the edges.’ Concepts too far beyond the sight of common comprehension will be dismissed as strange or bizarre. Unjust as it may be, this is the nature of evolution. Minor mutations can survive, replicate and accumulate over generations while major deviations are quickly isolated and disappear. Such is life.