I Have a Theory

Yep - I have a theory. Actually, I'm chock-full of them. I have so many theories, they are popping out of my ears; good ones, weird ones, impossible ones, conspiracy ones, simple ones, and sometimes even life-changing ones! The trick is nurturing them past infancy.

What more is a theory than an idea, a musing? A guess at how, what , when, where or why? Look at it that way, and you'll see that you have plenty of theories too. Eventually, these ideas may escape into the world to either solidify into fact, or at least swirl the waters of curiosity/doubt.

One theory I've been kicking around for some time now is that ideas are like viruses. They float around looking for a likely host, touching down here, falling from the tip of a tongue there, until they finally find a warm reception. A place to blossom and grow. Sometimes they don't and are lost entirely, but more often than not they find more than one home simultaneously, and then the race is on! Ideas like the combustion engine, flight, vaccines, rap music (really?) cell phones - you name it! - everything we know started with one small spark that smoldered into flame and, in its own way, made the world a different place. By being a willing receptacle we become the means by which the seemingly miraculous occurs. 

People like Tesla are fascinating, don't you think? Nikola Tesla was one big idea factory. Not only did theories breed in his outrageously active mind, he worked tirelessly to develop them into reality. (His thoughts on eugenics and gender equality aside, the man really had a lot going on!)  Things like alternating current motors, radio (sorry, Marconi!), even the remote control in every couch potato's hand - these ideas found a home first with Tesla. Much of what he contributed would perhaps have been lost to us without his willingness to share his ideas. Indeed, much was lost when ego got in the way.

I'm no Tesla. But instead of focusing on who or what we aren't, what would happen if we were all more open to the possibilities of what might yet be? Someone out there is the next Gene Roddenberry (creator of the Start Trek series), whose fantastical telecommunicater is now as common as toast. (I'm still waiting for the transporter!) An idea harbored today might float out into the world to become the next, greatest thing to find a new home with an enthusiastic host.

​But only if we put it out there.