--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good ideas are not taken seriously enough…" description: "\"“Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come from people of low status in the academic world; conversely, the ideas of high-status people ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg" --- # Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come… ![“Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come from people of low status in the academic world; conversely, the ideas of high-status people are often taken too seriously.” quote by Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg) > ““Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come from people of low status in the academic world; conversely, the ideas of high-status people are often taken too seriously.”” [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas from low‑status individuals are often dismissed, while high‑status ideas receive undue credibility, skewing progress. **In simple terms:** Low‑status ideas get ignored; high‑status ideas get over‑valued. Key Takeaway Judge ideas on merit, not status. Themes bias academia status recognition Mood analytical inquisitive Type academic critical When to use this quote - research funding - peer review - conference presentations - grant panels Key Concepts Sociology Epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How can we reduce status bias in science? - What mechanisms ensure ideas are judged fairly? A Different Perspective Prestige can mask poor quality and hide valuable insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conversely Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversely-ideas-5937033/) [Good ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-high-1386818/) [Ideas Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-taken-2178883/) [Taken Seriously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-seriously/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of women I know have found that their ideas may not be taken as seriously as men's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/a-lot-of-women-i-know-have-found-that-their-ideas-may-not-be-taken-as/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I realised all the good ideas were taken before I was even born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-realised-all-the-good-ideas-were-taken-before-i-was-even-born/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I personally think the best ideas for TV shows - at least comedies - are very low-fi ideas. High concepts often sell pitches in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/i-personally-think-the-best-ideas-for-tv-shows-at-least-comedies-are/) [Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/) > [“Ideas taken and planted into the grave do not germinate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/ideas-taken-and-planted-into-the-grave-do-not-germinate/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I do not have to be high to be great. I do not have to be drunk to have a good idea. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-do-not-have-to-be-high-to-be-great-i-do-not-have-to-be-drunk-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Everything in New Orleans is a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/everything-in-new-orleans-is-a-good-idea/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I was planning on writing a detailed review of several books on web security tonight, but the Obama collapse has superseded my best-laid plans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-foster-johnson/i-was-planning-on-writing-a-detailed-review-of-several-books-on-web/) [Charles Foster Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-foster-johnson/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-rickover/good-ideas-and-innovations-must-be-driven-into-existence-by-courage/) [Hyman Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-rickover/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) [Ebbe Skovdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebbe-skovdahl/) > [The election of Trump threw the chess board up. The pieces are all over the place. That's upsetting to a lot of people, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/the-election-of-trump-threw-the-chess-board-up-the-pieces-are-all/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [If there's anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it's being taken too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/if-there-s-anything-i-hate-more-than-not-being-taken-seriously-it-s/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) ## More by Lee Smolin > [“This unification of forces and motion has a simple consequence. In a particle theory, you can freely add all kinds of forces, so there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/this-unification-of-forces-and-motion-has-a-simple-consequence-in-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One field Faraday studied was the electric field. This is not a number but a vector, which we may visualize as an arrow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-field-faraday-studied-was-the-electric-field-this-is-not-a-number/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“It is interesting to note that the quantum-mechanical revolution was made by a virtually orphaned generation of scientists. Many members of the generation above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-the-quantum-mechanical-revolution-was/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“In fact, the particle-antiparticle annihilation and the closing of the string is necessary, if the theory is to be consistent with relativity, meaning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/in-fact-the-particle-antiparticle-annihilation-and-the-closing-of-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Every string theory that's been written down says the speed of light is universal. But other ideas about quantum gravity predict the speed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/every-string-theory-that-s-been-written-down-says-the-speed-of-light/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Unfortunately, no one has ever successfully postulated a super-symmetry holding between two known particles. Instead, in all the supersymmetric theories the numbers of particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/unfortunately-no-one-has-ever-successfully-postulated-a-super/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Those who do good science do so because they choose problems that are suited to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/those-who-do-good-science-do-so-because-they-choose-problems-that-are/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Here's a simplified version of what the Stanford group did. They started with a much-studied kind of string theory-a flat four-dimensional spacetime with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/here-s-a-simplified-version-of-what-the-stanford-group-did-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The current crisis in particle physics springs from the fact that the theories have gone beyond the standard model in the last thirty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-current-crisis-in-particle-physics-springs-from-the-fact-that-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“By the time I began my study of physics in the early 1970s, the idea of unifying gravity with the other forces was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/by-the-time-i-began-my-study-of-physics-in-the-early-1970s-the-idea/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“These two discoveries, of relativity and of the quantum, each required us to break definitively with Newtonian physics. However, in spite of great progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/these-two-discoveries-of-relativity-and-of-the-quantum-each-required/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/problem-1-combine-general-relativity-and-quantum-theory-into-a-single/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The loop approach to quantum gravity is now a thriving field of research. Many of the older ideas, such as supergravity and the study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-loop-approach-to-quantum-gravity-is-now-a-thriving-field-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“During the life of a black hole, it will pull in huge amounts of matter, carrying huge amounts of intrinsic information. At the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/during-the-life-of-a-black-hole-it-will-pull-in-huge-amounts-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Explore all 114 Lee Smolin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## More Good ideas quotes > [The election of Trump threw the chess board up. The pieces are all over the place. That's upsetting to a lot of people, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/the-election-of-trump-threw-the-chess-board-up-the-pieces-are-all/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) [Ebbe Skovdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebbe-skovdahl/) > [“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/i-worry-that-there-are-people-who-are-put-in-positions-of-authority/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-rickover/good-ideas-and-innovations-must-be-driven-into-existence-by-courage/) [Hyman Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-rickover/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [“I drink beer not to get drunk or because i have stress, i drink beer just because i want to share good ideas with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/i-drink-beer-not-to-get-drunk-or-because-i-have-stress-i-drink-beer/) [Ntambara Sylvestre Owen Berbason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/) > [“Even though I've never met my dad and don't really want to, I share some of his talents. Along with being the messenger of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-though-i-ve-never-met-my-dad-and-don-t-really-want-to-i-share/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Progress is unstoppable. It is a drumbeat to which we must all march. Technology helps and good ideas spread - these are two laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/progress-is-unstoppable-it-is-a-drumbeat-to-which-we-must-all-march/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [“You know, I don't believe that religions are religions. No, I believe they are philosophies with some good ideas and some fuckin' weird ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/you-know-i-don-t-believe-that-religions-are-religions-no-i-believe/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [I was planning on writing a detailed review of several books on web security tonight, but the Obama collapse has superseded my best-laid plans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-foster-johnson/i-was-planning-on-writing-a-detailed-review-of-several-books-on-web/) [Charles Foster Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-foster-johnson/) > [Everything in New Orleans is a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/everything-in-new-orleans-is-a-good-idea/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I do not have to be high to be great. I do not have to be drunk to have a good idea. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-do-not-have-to-be-high-to-be-great-i-do-not-have-to-be-drunk-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 757 Good ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come from people of low status in the academic world; conversely, the ideas of high-status people are often taken too seriously.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Smolin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enough-when-they-come-from-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good ideas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enough-when-they-come-from-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/lee-smolin-4171_good-ideas_good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enoug_2387893.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Good ideas are not taken seriously enough when they come from people of low status in the academic world…” — Lee Smolin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Smolin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Good ideas are not taken seriously...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enough-when-they-come-from-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/good-ideas-are-not-taken-seriously-enough-when-they-come-from-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```