Good ideas Quote by Linus Pauling
“If you want to have good ideas you must have many ideas. Most of them will be wrong, and what you have to learn is which ones to throw away.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Nature of Science, 1965
Generating many ideas yields a few good ones; the key is to discard the poor and keep the valuable.
In simple terms: Many ideas, keep the good, discard the rest.
Key Takeaway
Encourage prolific brainstorming and critical selection.
Themes
creativity
innovation
critical thinking
Mood
analytical
inspirational
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- product design
- scientific research
- writing
- entrepreneurship
Key Concepts
idea generation
research development
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you decide which ideas to discard?
- What criteria define a 'good' idea?
A Different Perspective
Risk of analysis paralysis.
![“[Professor Pauling] confesses that he had harboured the feeling that sooner or later he would be the one to get the DNA structure; and although he was pleased with the double-helix, he 'rather wished the idea had been his'.” quote by Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d71/linus-pauling-8508_dna_professor-pauling-confesses-that-he-had_319556.jpg)
