The best ideas arise from a passionate interest in commonplace things.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
TS: Best ideas in math and technology are usually unrelated to commonplace things as the ideas often involve theoretical concepts that are not accessible to people without specialized training. The statement may be valid for certain social sciences such as economics.
ts1: in math, good ideas often arise from collaboration among well-trained mathematicians
- Consider Green-Tao theorem
- as a result of the colaboration of Ben Green and Terrance Tao
- it has nothing to do with commonplace things
- its development involves sophisticated concepts and theories in number theory and other branches of pure math
ts 2: in technology, good ideas often come from hybridization of different existing technologies that are not necessarily commonplace
- consider the design of iPhone
- the idea of smartphone has been around (not very common at the time)
- touchscreen technology also not popular at the time
- the hybrid of smartphone and touchscreen leads to iPhone
ts 3: in social science, strong interest in how commonplace things affect human behaviors may lead to insightful ideas
- consider the study of how seatbelt laws affect drivers’ behaviors
- economists with passionate interests in seatbelt (a commonplace thing) dedicate a great amount of efforts to research
- found the unintended consequence of seatbelt laws (reduction of risk leads to more reckless driving and more pedestrians injuries)