Crack Not

image credit : alphacoder

If you are in academia, you would have heard the term "crackpot" in reference to some seemingly wacky idea. The term is used rather dismissively towards the individuals coming up with some idea. "Oh that's a crackpot theory."  But did we ever stop to think what that really is? Did we ever stop to questions what these individuals may be attempting to do? In my opinion, I think that the "crackpots" are actually pursuing a creative attempt to push the boundaries of knowledge given the limited amount of information available to them.

When jumping into a particular field, you spend months and years trying to understand the language of the field. You learn the jargon and start to understand a common school of thought. You do this for a very long time, before one tries to push the boundaries of their field and forward knowledge. In my opinion, what this system inadvertently does is make the people on the "inside" dismiss those who are on the "outside". We stick up our noses at anyone who misuses our jargon and tries to extend an idea in a way that isn't quite right. We stick up our noses at the someone trying to make connections when it may not be a viable one.

However, what gets left out of many books is the reality of discovery. Most discoveries were little "accidents". Once this accident happened it sparked curiosity upon the person who made the mistake. They questioned why this happened and sought after finding a reason how this could happen. Upon further examination, they were able to validate that something might not be wrong with what they did. So what is the next thing they do? Share it with the world.

If what they found was correct, it would take a while for the world to accept it. It takes a while for paradigms to shift. It takes a while for a school of thought to accept a tangential off shoot of the mainstream. And what exactly is that off shoot called colloquially? "Going out on a limb." And if you would like to say it dismissively, you could call it a "crackpot theory".

My proposal would be to listen more and try to understand what attempts are being made to extend the current ideas. It is possible that they might be able to see something you can't and make connections that you wouldn't be able to see. So, listen. You might actually learn something.