We all talk about 'ideas' and we talk even more about 'big ideas'. But what do we mean?

Here are five really 'big ideas' 

1. Darwin's 'survival of the fittest'

2. Christianity, 'He died to save us all'

3. Einstein's relativity, 'Time is not a constant'

4. Communism's, 'society can be classless' 

5. Impressionism, 'art does not have to realistic'

These feel rather detatched from the sort of 'big ideas' we talk about in marketing but I think we can learn something from looking at them. So, what do all 'big ideas' have in common. Here's my starter for 10. 

• They involve rationale thought and then big creative leaps
• They simplify the complex and often seem obvious in hind-sight
• They are very believable and difficult to disprove even if they are not true
  
• They can be described easily and succinctly in words
• They change the way we see the world, sometimes a small change, sometimes a big change 

And a few other thoughts.

• Ideas are about creative thinking and apply in every field - arts, science and social science.
• Being a 'creative thinker' and being 'arty' are not the same thing
• 'Big Ideas' require freethinking and an open-mind.
• Never confuse ideas with execution : communism, relativity and Darwinism have manifested themselves in lots of ways : good, bad and indifferent but they are all still 'Big Ideas'.