Back Quote by Burt Rutan
“When there's ever a breakthrough, a true breakthrough, you can go back and find a time period when the consensus was 'well, that's nonsense!' so what that means is that a true creative researcher has to have confidence in nonsense.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on Innovation, 2015
Creative breakthroughs often seem absurd until later, so researchers must trust ideas that appear nonsensical now.
In simple terms: Believe in ideas that seem crazy now.
Key Takeaway
Embrace and defend unconventional ideas.
Themes
innovation
creativity
confidence
risk
science
Mood
optimistic
determined
Type
inspirational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- research labs
- startup pitches
- artistic projects
- policy debates
Key Concepts
disruptive thinking
paradigm shift
intuition
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you differentiate useful nonsense from frivolous ideas?
- When have you trusted a seemingly absurd concept?
A Different Perspective
Nonsense can be misinterpreted as lack of rigor.
