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Re: how to judge creative ideas (was: barometer parable)



On Sun, 09 Jun 2002 09:09:58 -0400 "John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>
writes:
Michael Edmiston wrote:

If I throw a barometer off a tall building, it wastes the
barometer, and the value of the "scientific" information
obtained in the process will never (and I mean NEVER) repay
the cost of the barometer, especially when since the information
could have been obtained in other ways.



Never use the word "never" unless you are absolutely sure that
there are never any possiblities of an exception to your statement.
For example, ....

A windowwasher wearing a parachute is doing her job outside
the upper floors of a skyscraper when her rope supports start
to break. By luck, she is able to grab a baromerer that is
mounted outside the window that she is cleaning. Should she
jump and hope that her parachute will open or should she drop
the barometer and calculate her altitude above ground first?

Herb Gottlieb from New York City
(Where we NEVER use the word "never" usless were are
sure that we mean "never" !)