Sincewriting my last post, I’ve been musing on what characterises a big idea. One feature is discontinuous change. It is not just another link in a chain of small ideas. On that basis, such things as the Internet and the mobile phone would I suggest qualify as big ideas – so would Communism, space travel and nuclear power.
While discontinuous change characterises big ideas, it is a necessary but not sufficient feature. Scale and impact upon humanity are also important features. Hence, the iPod, good idea that it is, is hardly up there with nuclear power and the Internet.
