Why do people support bad ideas? Do people know they are supporting bad ideas? I wonder what bad ideas I cling to that I don’t know about.

What is a “bad” idea anyway?

Here’s my shot at a definition – a bad idea is something that isn’t really helpful overall – it could be harmful. A bad idea doesn’t have a reason to exist on its own. It often needs some kind of excuse for its existence.

Why do people continue to support bad politics? The same question could be asked as to why people support bad theology.

Is it as simple as having faulty assumptions based on what a person wants to believe about the world in contrast to reality? How about this – do bad ideas persist because people base their self-worth and/or identity on them? And to question the bad idea would be to question one’s identity?

Do bad ideas persist because we care what others think about us who also hold those same ideas? Better to be in the company of like-minded fools, rather than alone and correct?  

Is one person’s bad idea, another person’s great idea? Is that possible, or are ideas more whole than that. What are we to judge the “goodness” of an idea on?

Is something a bad idea if the result turns out to be good or better than expected?

Is it better to resist a bad idea or to let the bad idea go through to failure? I guess that depends on how dangerous the bad idea is and if lives are at stake.

How do we determine if we are holding onto bad ideas and how do we let go of them? How do we examine why we are holding onto bad ideas? What is it about a bad idea that we want to cling to it regardless of what the evidence shows?