Public success will depend on both identifying the correct direction, which may require going very deep yourself, and our ability to identify the next step on the path for the largest audience. If we are working at the boundary of our understanding, we will rarely be successful.
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Replying to @Plinz
Public success is a separate issue from whether an idea is objectively good or bad.
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Replying to @RitaJKing
I just doubt that ideas can be good or bad. No matter how mind blowing an idea appears to us now, it will be trivial, boring and obvious to us a few steps of mental development later.
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Replying to @Plinz
Immunotherapy for eliminating cancer is a really good idea, for example. Drinking and driving is a bad idea.
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Replying to @RitaJKing
If I were to write books about why it is a good idea to not combine drinking and driving, I'd probably waste everybody's time. It is a good idea in the normative sense, but a an utterly trivial idea in the intellectual sense.
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Replying to @Plinz
Again, that is a separate issue from whether an idea can be objectively good or bad. But your comment does raise the question about what is an "intellectual" idea? One that has no value outside the mind?
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Replying to @RitaJKing
I don't judge an idea by its utility or by comparing it to normative ideals, but only in how much insight it adds to my models. This seems to be a weirdness of my mind.
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Replying to @Plinz
Yes, seeking outward acceptance for inward development is difficult unless the audience has a reason to relate to the material. If these insights can help others, and they are communicated in a way that grabs their imaginations, you'll have an audience.
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Replying to @RitaJKing
If you are a mathematician or philosopher or artist, then the appreciation of your public appearances will depend entirely on the fit to the audience. If you care to maximize your audience, you need to relate to where most people are at, not to the cutting edge of your field.
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Replying to @Plinz
But appreciation of public appearances is not a reliable reflection of the objective worth of an idea.
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As I said, I am still unable to appreciate your definition of objective worth. However, I am very good at separating my own appreciation of an idea from the appreciation by an arbitrary audience.
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Replying to @Plinz
I'm not sure how to define objective worth, I just wouldn't be so quick to rule it out, even if ultimately everything is meaningless in a vast cold universe etc etc.
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Replying to @RitaJKing
I don't think that I got there quickly either. By all means, take your time.
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