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How To Vet Clever Ideas Without Giving Them Away?
Rival writes "As an inquisitive and creative geek, I am constantly coming up with 'clever' ideas. Most often I discover fundamental or practical flaws lurking in the details, which I'm fine with. As Edison said, 'I haven't failed; I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.' Other times, I discover that someone else has beaten me to the idea. I'm fine with that, too. At least I know that I've come up with a great idea, even if I'm not the first. There are times, however, when I can find no flaws with an idea and nobody else seems to have thought of it. I'm not conceited enough to think my idea is genius; I just assume that I'm not knowledgeable enough to see what I'm missing. In these times, I often want to ask a subject matter expert for their thoughts. On the admittedly long chance that an idea is genius, however, what is the best way to ask for another's insights while mitigating the risk of them stealing or sharing the idea? Asking a stranger to sign a contract before discussing an idea seems like a good way to get a door closed on my face. What are your experiences and suggestions?"
What ideas did you have? This will help us make suggestions.
Guy Kawasaki gave one really good suggestion to test your idea: convince a woman
Dude, the guy is asking his question on Slashdot. The odds that he knows any women or has the guts to talk to them if he does are slim to none.
Now if you'll excuse me, the microwave upstairs just beeped. My hotpockets are done!
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
They will find flaws
Your sentence is missing a period at the end. Also, you should be clearer about who "They" are although it can be assumed that it is "Slashdotters" as mentioned in the subject of your reply.
Also, your Slashdot ID (457709) is too high.
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
If he understands and digs it, it's been done or is fatally flawed. If he stares at you blankly, maybe you're on to something. Best part: he's guaranteed not to accurately disclose or competently act on your idea!
"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
Guy Kawasaki gave one really good suggestion to test your idea: convince a woman
Dude, the guy is asking his question on Slashdot. The odds that he knows any women or has the guts to talk to them if he does are slim to none.
Now if you'll excuse me, the microwave upstairs just beeped. My hotpockets are done!
Why does it worry me that that was modded +5 INFORMATIVE!
>_>
Your mom doesn't bring them to you?
Ask a lazy person, or even better, a serial procrastinator. They may want to steal your idea, but will never get around to it.
The television will not be revolutionized.
your microwave isn't in the same room as your PC
Mom said no microwave in the basement, and that's that!
I thought it was pretty obvious that the microwave is in his mother's kitchen.
Exception Duck - may or may not contain chicken.
Uhhhh, why would you cook your pockets?!
And speaking of not having girlfriends, I've got this great money-saving idea: wash the whites and colored laundry together. Saves a lot of money. Can't figure out why girls haven't caught on.
What I would do is find someone who's well acquainted in the field, then tell him your idea in great detail. If it's a bad idea, nothing lost, if it's a good idea, you can threaten to slaughter his whole family.
Help fight spam
You haven't made too explicit queries on Google for that, do you ?
Why does it worry me that that was modded +5 INFORMATIVE!
Because his hot pockets were indeed done. It was very informative, as we were all sitting here wondering when they would be done.
wash the whites and colored laundry together. Saves a lot of money.
I've moved beyond that: I throw all my laundry into the dishwasher. Just throw some bleach in there and you're golden.
Now I have to get to that doctor's appointment -- he said on the phone that there was some problem with my liver.
Entomologically speaking, the spider is not a bug, it's a feature.