According to Arthur C. Clarke [1]:
“New ideas pass through three periods:
- It can’t be done;
- It probably can be done, but it’s not worth doing;
- I knew it was a good idea all along.”
These three stages can be summed up as Myopia, Hubris and Amnesia. Which sounds a bit like the famous misquote (?) by Mahatma Gandhi:
“First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win.”
We are all surrounded by innovations of various kinds. If Clarke and Gandhi are right, we are either:
- myopically ignoring them…
- laughing and fighting them hubristically or
- amnesiacally approving of the winners
Which one are you?
References
- Benford, G. (2008). Obituary: Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) Nature, 452 (7187), 546-546 DOI: 10.1038/452546a
O'Really? 