I sort of pride myself in being able to hold conflicting ideas in my head at the same time. Being able to consider multiple viewpoints at once. Imagine how much easier things would be in the world if everyone did this. The religious could also consider science as valid, the conservatives could consider progressive viewpoints as valid.. etc. Being able to anchor yourself in a position to consider the merits of both sides.
GENIUSES THINK IN OPPOSITES.
Physicist and philosopher David Bohm believed geniuses were able to think different thoughts because they could tolerate ambivalence between opposites or two incompatible subjects. Dr. Albert Rothenberg, a noted researcher on the creative process, identified this ability in a wide variety of geniuses including Einstein, Mozart, Edison, Pasteur, Joseph Conrad, and Picasso in his 1990 book The Emerging Goddess: The Creative Process in Art, Science and Other Fields. Physicist Niels Bohr believed that if you held opposites together, then you suspend your thought and your mind moves to a new level. The suspension of thought allows an intelligence beyond thought to act and create a new form. The swirling of opposites creates the conditions for a new point of view to bubble freely from your mind. Bohr’s ability to imagine light as both a particle and a wave led to his conception of the principle of complementarity. Thomas Edison’s invention of a practical system of lighting involved combining wiring in parallel circuits with high resistance filaments in his bulbs, two things that were not considered possible by conventional thinkers, in fact were not considered at all because of an assumed incompatibility. Because Edison could tolerate the ambivalence between two incompatible things, he could see the relationship that led to his breakthrough. Full Article
Hi Josh I think you bring up a very good point but cannot say that people like Thomas Edison excepted theories that were opposites all time. In fact when Westinghouse made alternating current popular Edison was so angry and a good marketer that he tried to coin the phrase “Westinghouse him” as a term for when death row inmate was electrocuted via the electric chair using alternating current the same thing we all use today. While Edison was able to conceptualize things that were at the time looked at in the same fashion as oil and water to the idea of mixing them being absurd. I agree with you that the ability to conceptualize things into something that works that was held back by common belief or lack of understanding. Is genius I would hope as you say every single person tries to put every other person in their shoes when dealing with a situation. Something much easier said than done. I believe that anyone who cannot at least try to conceptualize every angle is failing at whatever their thinking to achieve. I was lucky enough to have my own patent for type of plastic film that Wikipedia still to this day says is impossible is impossible to put through a blown film extruder that is what gave me the idea in the first place to try putting TPO through a a blown film extruder. Something I am lucky to found and very proud of. Something similar to you building managed WordPress hosting and outside of the box idea that has taken off and obviously was brilliant.
All the best,
Thomas
PS on the blog article you wrote regarding a customer threatening to go on twitter or something about fashion and relayed their experience if they were not given their money back. I agree with the way that you handled it is extremely petty of the person to make a threat when doing business with the company especially over $20. The only thing I would’ve done differently if I were you is not sworn in by reply. I have been the founder of 3 companies which I’m proud to say are still all in existence today and that is one thing that is never tolerated in business. At least in plastics and manufacturing. Everyone swears but to swear to the customer is not something I would’ve done. However that person did most likely deserve it you never want to use language like that in my opinion.