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Shooting down ideas is not a skill

scottlawsonbc.com

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Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#31

Post by Forgeties79 »

sigseg1v wrote: post #8

With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen. The proposer of the idea needs to nurture it and part of that is defending it. When someone is super optimistic and comes forward with an idea where: - it's actually just a half baked solution for something I already tried to solve 4 years ago - I'm acutely aware of all the spots it will fall - they still think it can work, when it really really honestly…

This is faith in some sort of cosmic truth a la “the invisible hand.” The best ideas do not always win out. We wouldn’t have concepts such as “first mover advantage” if that was true.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#32

Post by 3tkazsT »

Try sheltering every "idea" on an open source issue tracker and report back with a nervous breakdown in a year.

Most ideas are stupid and don't work. Startup ideas are increasingly stupid and only work because many startups are know to fail by the investors but used as a vehicle to transport money from A to B with plausible deniability.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#33

Post by Forgeties79 »

defrost wrote: post #26
kulahan wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen If this is true, companies wouldn't fail all the time .

Many good ideas have multiple failed attempts wrt implementation. Eg: if we accept that transcontinental rail spanning the USofA was a good idea, then it can be seen that several wanna be railroad barons fell by the wayside.

This logic means you can’t ever be wrong because any case of a good idea not being implemented can be hand waved away as “not yet.”

Edit: you changed your comment a lot

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#34

Post by cjbgkagh »

sigseg1v wrote: post #8

With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen. The proposer of the idea needs to nurture it and part of that is defending it. When someone is super optimistic and comes forward with an idea where: - it's actually just a half baked solution for something I already tried to solve 4 years ago - I'm acutely aware of all the spots it will fall - they still think it can work, when it really really honestly…

> With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen.

Not sure if that's survivorship bias or post-facto rationalization. I guess the 'it will happen' implies eventually and since we cannot wait for all time there is no good idea that could qualify as never going to happen.

I know of many good ideas that haven't' happened yet and are unlikely to be brought to fruition in my lifetime. At least Meta-Languages became popular, that only took 60 years.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#35

Post by ceejayoz »

faangguyindia wrote: post #29
sigseg1v wrote: post #8

With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen. The proposer of the idea needs to nurture it and part of that is defending it. When someone is super optimistic and comes forward with an idea where: - it's actually just a half baked solution for something I already tried to solve 4 years ago - I'm acutely aware of all the spots it will fall - they still think it can work, when it really really honestly…

Most of the startups were flawed ideas according to vast majority, this is why success is rare. You cannot know which solution will succeed, there are many stupid solutions with commerical success while many brilliant solutions without success. Thinking you can guess what is going to succeed or not going to succeed is dunning kruger.

Predicting success is tough.

Some failures are not hard to predict. Politics is full of bad ideas that should’ve been shot down early.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#36

Post by defrost »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #33
defrost wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many good ideas have multiple failed attempts wrt implementation. Eg: if we accept that transcontinental rail spanning the USofA was a good idea, then it can be seen that several wanna be railroad barons fell by the wayside.

This logic means you can’t ever be wrong because any case of a good idea not being implemented can be hand waved away as “not yet.” Edit: you changed your comment a lot

> This logic means

No, it doesn't. Maybe wind back on the absolutism a little and look to the wide world where things happen. Warts and all.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#37

Post by zjp »

At some point you just have to spend spare cycles on ideas you think matter. What's harder than rejecting an idea is rejecting a finished, working product. And if your team says "I wish you had worked on something else", that's great, but if you're not my boss and and they're happy, who cares? And sometimes even your bosses. If you believe in something hard enough you will build political capital by meeting work obligations and spend it down working on your baby.

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#38

Post by drbojingle »

sigseg1v wrote: post #8

With all due respect, if the idea is good, then it will happen. The proposer of the idea needs to nurture it and part of that is defending it. When someone is super optimistic and comes forward with an idea where: - it's actually just a half baked solution for something I already tried to solve 4 years ago - I'm acutely aware of all the spots it will fall - they still think it can work, when it really really honestly…

Well, you can help nurture it. Prehaps instead of speaking how about how it couldn't work think about what you'd need to do to make it work or where it could work. Tend to the garden!

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#39

Post by xrd »

ceejayoz wrote: post #19
gnabgib wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great, so what did your comment say the first time?

"Yes, it is." (I'm also not clear on what would make a typo ironic in this case.)

  "Shooting down ideas is not a skill"

  "This doesn't mean they know what they're doing. Their thoughts can be bad."

Re: Shooting down ideas is not a skill

#40

Post by ceejayoz »

xrd wrote: post #39
ceejayoz wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yes, it is." (I'm also not clear on what would make a typo ironic in this case.)

"Shooting down ideas is not a skill" "This doesn't mean they know what they're doing. Their thoughts can be bad."

Can you clarify? The alleged typo is… not there? Or their? Or they’re?

What’s ironic here?

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