People come up with ideas every day, but what is an idea? What makes an idea good or
bad? Is any idea actually new? Do we only have an idea of what ideas are? I have no idea.
Ideas can come in several different forms. One kind of idea could be a plan. For example,
your idea can be to do your math homework before your science homework, and vice versa. Or, your idea could more along the lines of a suggestion. You could have the idea that your friend should wear dark blue shoes to match their shirt. A similar idea could be you suggesting, "Let's go to the mall" when you have no plans. Another kind of idea is the main idea or the purpose of a piece of work. This would apply to things like books, movies, and songs, each of which have their own special meaning. These examples of what ideas can be barely scratch the surface of what ideas are .
Now onto something a bit more ambiguous: What constitutes a good or bad idea? Someone could say that they have a really good idea for something, like combining spaghetti with tacos. However, the next person could flat out disagree and think that the pairing won’t work. The cause of these discrepancies in how ideas are perceived must simply come from a difference in opinions, and whether or not the individual believes it is practical. In some situations, it may be more "obvious" to see a good idea when compared to other ideas. The better idea would be the one that is more ideal and/or has a higher potential for better results. For example, studying for a test would be a good idea when compared to not studying, which would be a bad one. But that's just it: Are ideas only good or bad when compared to each other? Do ideas have no value of their own? How are we supposed to judge a single idea?
After all of that, I return to the original question: What is an idea? Since there are so
many complicated or unanswered questions, there can't be one simple answer. So, that leads to
another question: How many definitions are there for an idea? I suppose the best answer would
be infinitely many. Ideas are tied to imagination and creativity, so as long as those things exist,
the creation of ideas will never end. Perhaps the biggest form of an idea is something I hadn’t
mentioned earlier: a concept. Ideas are what create books we read, the movies we watch, and the
music we listen to. Everything we have today was the result of an idea. Someone somewhere
decided to create tools essential to the world today, from the phone that lets us communicate
around the world, to the streets that let us walk across it. If it weren’t for ideas, where would
society be today? Our different ideas are what make us complex beings and are what push
humanity to the next level of sophistication and development. So, I end with one final question:
What’s your next idea?
Cristian, I like how you organized your work. You go from asking questions to try and answer those questions. From there, you would question examples of what an idea is to what constitutes an idea as good or bad. But you would wrap it all up with your final punch by expressing that an idea is a concept and you stayed focused on that to end on making readers question what's their "next idea?" Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteI never truly thought what influenced my ideas, but this explains a lot as to why we all have different ideas in life. Though I feel that some ideas may have a clear solution, but others may be more complex. It just depends on the situation. - Shrey
ReplyDeleteThe use of examples to explain ideas helps prove that there are an infinite amount of ideas help prove your claim making this a cohesive essay. It also makes your final question more significant allowing for insight to your concept..
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you just dove into the subject right away and started providing many answers to the question. I love the question, "What is an idea?" because it makes me think what really is an idea, how do we get them, is it a good idea? So many answers to this question come to my mind and overall I really enjoyed the piece. -Trenton Robles
ReplyDeleteVery interesting response to a topic that may not be able to have an substantial definition. You wrote about several aspects and positions on an idea that may influence how one thinks. The rhetorical question at the end was very well done.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how this piece really forces you to think of what our ideas are and how they are seen in everyday life. You also ended with an open ended question to lead us to think of more ideas for our development.
ReplyDeleteI honestly have no idea how you wrote this piece without losing your main point, which I think was really smart of you. Reading this is very interesting because it attracted my attention as a reader: As I read more into your piece the more alluring it gets because I just keep questioning what exactly an idea is. I like how you applied a rhetorical question in there because it just made me think more deeply about your topic. -Timothy Heard
ReplyDeleteAn amazing thoughtful piece that asks the reader a simple question but leaves them with even more to ask themselves. In a writing such as this, asking more questions isn't a bad thing at all! I thoroughly enjoyed all of the rhetorical questions that caused me to pause and think, and even wonder as to how I've never thought of it before. Especially with the question of, "Are ideas only good or bad when compared to each other? Do ideas have no value of their own?" Truly thought provoking, while also being beautifully constructed to avoid confusion. Amazing work!
ReplyDeleteThis piece was really interesting to read. You were able to paint a vivid picture of the struggle of finding an answer where there isn't an obvious one. This got me thinking about how we always judge our decisions and actions based on our intentions and not the consequences. The rhetorical questions were really what got me thinking as they give you points to "jump off from." Overall, it was well written and enjoyable. -- Gilberto Diaz
ReplyDeleteOne important takeaway from this piece is the notion that the quality of an idea can be interpreted differently by anyone. Like you stated in your piece, one great idea to someone can be terrible to another.
ReplyDeleteI like the topic you chose for your piece because an "idea" isn't typically thought of when we think of abstract concepts. With that said, you did a great job of explaining the different types and it left me with something to think about.
ReplyDelete-Alexis Rosenzweig
I really like how you constructed your piece, the way you asked questions and answered them, in order to show that an "idea " doesn't have be abstract, but it is the thought.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting piece, I found it to be thought provoking. I enjoyed the fact that you wrote about the idea of an "idea" with truly is quite absurd. Your questions made me ponder my own similar ones and really evaluate the abstract concepts of an idea. This piece is very relevant in today's society being that it feels as if all discoveries have been discovered and all research has been researched, which does raise the question of what an idea is. - Andrea Sordo
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