On the spread of ideas: Four roles and four traps - a blog by Steven Shorrock (22 June 2022)

Summary

Much progress in the world depends on the spread of ideas, says Steven Shorrock in his new blog. There is no shortage of good ideas, and no shortage of bad ones, but ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are relative to our positions, and success and failure are not dependent on either. The success of an idea depends on a multitude of factors, such as the the multiverse of contexts in which it is introduced, the dominant paradigm, the nature of the related problem situation or opportunity, the quality of the idea itself, the communication of the idea, possible unwanted consequences, and the characteristics of the proponents and detractors.