The New Ideas Blog

How far should we go when selling a product or service? We may disagree about where the lines are when it comes to marketing ethics, but hopefully we can agree that they exist and are not simply “whatever is legal.” There are many things that marketers do that stay this side of legal, but are clearly meant to be deceptive, which to me crosses the line.

For example, many products are advertised on television like this: “Just $9.99 - buy now and get a second one free.” Of course you (more…)

I was just looking through a file I have which has a list of forty or fifty ways to creatively solve problems and/or create new ideas and products. Here are two of them.

1. Change The Size

I used to play a trivia game at a tavern in Michigan on Tuesday nights. Laura, the hostess and master of ceremonies, read the questions while sitting in a wooden chair that was at least six feet high. I’m not sure if there (more…)

Ana and I recently adopted two cats, the only pets we have had in the seven years we’ve been married. I have already written about the “life lessons” learned from them in a previous post. Now I want to cover some of the ideas they have given me.

First, we were looking for a “cat condo,” a carpeted playhouse or platform for them to entertain themselves with. Checking them out online we saw (more…)

I have been thinking about what I refer to as the “least understood important ideas.” These can be found in many areas of life, large and small. They are sometimes even the most important ideas in a given context, yet they are either relatively unknown by the majority of people or not explored and developed very well.

A simple example comes from the area of home loans. Most people know how a mortgage works, but there’s an often ignored idea that reveals (more…)

As you may have noticed, I often note the limitations of language. Of course being a heavy user of it, I certainly recognize its power. The problem comes when we focus more on the words and how they are used incorrectly, rather than on what the user is pointing to. This is very clear in the case of the word luck. Is there such a thing as good luck?

Even though I have written a book on how to have good luck, I am perfectly comfortable with the idea that there is no such thing. Why? Because (more…)

The concept of crime is not limited to illegality. Most of us can think of “legal” crimes in other times and places. Owning slaves in 1850, for example, was certainly a crime against humanity, even if it was allowed by law. And making laws to preventing certain races from marrying did not make it less of a crime to stop two people from being together. Worse examples can be found as well.

Now, what about an example from here and now? Will it someday be seen as a crime (more…)

Coming from a philosophical background which sees self interest as both natural and even the basis of morality, it was difficult for me to understand how transcending the “self” might actually be a good thing. For years I hesitated to even give any credence to the idea, and so I didn’t explore it too deeply. It was only when I learned to understand the nature and limits of language and logic that I was able to take a second look at this and other ideas which seemingly contradicted what I saw as true.

I have to touch (more…)

Mary Wolestonecraft, with the simple premise that women only appeared inferior to men because of a lack of education, wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. She was one of the earliest feminists, and is credited with inspiring the ater movements which changed the world.

Charles Darwin started with the simple idea of natural selection. From that he (more…)

Most of us will never be in a position to greatly influence the politics or national policies of the country. It isn’t that it’s impossible. Whatever we may think of Barack Obama, his successful campaign was a pretty good indication of the potential for a relatively unknown person from a modest background to have a huge impact in national politics. But few of us are willing to do what he has done, nor do most of have any interest in playing politics on that level.

Furthermore, though we may participate in the creation (more…)

A common belief is that we need to tax imports, especially in key industries, in order to protect our own economy. But is there any evidence for this idea? Not much. The real world examples, such as South versus North Korea or Austria versus Hungary show that those countries with the markets more open to outside products actually do far better. Is it possible that we damage our economy with such taxes?

In fact, in 1936 (more…)