Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition
by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
131 Paradox of Great Ideas
Great ideas are indistinguishable from crazy ideas when first introduced.
Based on a variant of a quote by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: “All great ideas pass through three stages. First, they are ridiculed. Second, they are violently opposed. Third, they are accepted as great”. 1
The problem is that all crazy ideas also pass through the first two stages — i.e., they are first ridiculed and then violently opposed. For an idea to be “great”, it must be nonobvious to someone skilled in the area of innovation and have the potential to make a significant impact. By definition, ideas that are nonobvious to someone skilled in the area of innovation defy orthodox thinking, which is why they initially appear crazy. ...
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