As much as I have always been a fan of innovation, it was more at a distance in the past. Maybe one of the harder things to absorb with our modern world is how close you can be to a simply powerful idea, which I like to say, doesn't care who discovers it! Whereas in the past I think thought was more about certain people with certain expertise.
Still it does usually require expertise, where wide knowledge across a variety of areas can be necessary, as you look at something from a different perspective, and notice that hey, here's something simply powerful.
However it is one thing to think about all of that objectively, and quite another if you're looking at something you realize is socially disruptive, and considering how to present it.
The idea doesn't care. And with the web you can put it out there easily enough, but what happens then? That can definitely be well outside your control.
But LOTS of people over time can tend to normalize the reaction I've noticed.
The web makes that possible. Your ideas can easily flow around the world, as people consider and react to them.
Years ago I was more focused on the experts in fields where I had what I felt were simply powerful innovative ideas looking for their approval. But that look to traditional authority was something I'd learned being brought up by my parents in a puritanical Fundamentalist Christian religion, which thankfully I never officially joined, and then getting my degree in physics as a solid fan of the academic community at a top university, and then enlisting in the US Army after graduating! Am definitely someone who appreciates authority!
Learning how you can appreciate authority, while accepting a quest for innovation including an acceptance of your own has been a struggle for me. Talking some things out now actually is about releasing the shame I've felt. And accepting that yes, I can go chase ideas of my own. It's ok.
James Harris
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