Are ideas finite?

• abc33kr wrote on 2011-08-12 01:55
  Typically, many people encourage creativity and to think up of something that no one has ever thought of.
  
  But will ideas eventually run out?
  
  Nowadays, pretty much everything has been thought up of and most medias take ideas from great works and come up with something. I know most classic works like shakespeare are based on greek/roman literatures.
• ashkanz wrote on 2011-08-12 01:57
  You cant really say.
  The moment anything new is introduced, new idea's are formed
  ( example, a new ore, or a jewel, or even an animal )
• Spartaaaaa wrote on 2011-08-12 01:59
  I suppose good ideas may run out one day. Ideas in general, however, will never run out. For example: If we're trying to make a new car, I could come up with the following ideas.
  
  1) A car with 5 wheels
  2) A car with 6 wheels
  3) A car with 7 wheels
  4) A car with a cat attached to the brake pedal
  5) A car with laser beams coming out of the headlights (that might actually be a good idea)
  6) A car with dead frogs for wheels
  7) A car that can time travel (also maybe a good idea)
  8) A car that releases potatoes from its exhaust pipe
  9) A car with windshield wipers made of gundams
  10) A car shaped like the Empire State Building
• Chiyuri wrote on 2011-08-12 02:01
  Once you add numbers to ideas, it becomes infinite.
• Sedia wrote on 2011-08-12 02:03
  Not with me around! I come up with things everyday and that's why I never get anything done.Too busy with one thing...
• abc33kr wrote on 2011-08-12 02:04
  oops should have said "are good ideas finite", but i guess this is an interesting discussion too.
• Kueh wrote on 2011-08-12 03:00
  No.
  
  Even strictly linguistically speaking, one of the qualities that a language has to have to be considered a fully developed one is the ability to make an infinite number of unique messages.
  
  In that regard, as long as you speak a fully developed language (which most world languages are) then you can never run out of sentences that describe good ideas.
  
  And as long as you have the sentence, then you have the idea, by default.
• Spartaaaaa wrote on 2011-08-12 03:04

  Quote from abc33kr;549079:

  oops should have said "are good ideas finite", but i guess this is an interesting discussion too.

  
  
  Though what would be considered a good idea differs from person to person; so I suppose even "good" ideas might be limitless.
• Yogurticecream wrote on 2011-08-12 05:01
  Permutations of good ideas are limitless.
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-08-14 14:40

  Quote from Yogurticecream;549217:

  Permutations of good ideas are limitless.

  
  This.
  
  
  You can not run out of ideas as an abstract concept.
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-08-14 21:00
  Eventually every thought will be imagined, by some person, at some time or another. This could take trillions upon trillions of millenniums but eventually its not unthinkable that it will happen.
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-08-14 21:55
  Then they'll come up with the idea that someone else might think of an idea, etc.
  
  The abstract world knows no bounds.
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-08-15 01:58

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;551862:

  Then they'll come up with the idea that someone else might think of an idea, etc.
  
  The abstract world knows no bounds.

  
  
  Assuming that every idea has a base idea, then eventually all the ideas will be thought of at some point in time.
• Guyverunit4 wrote on 2011-08-26 07:28
  Heh, I was just thinking about this the other day. Personally, I think that, presently, there are no 100% original thoughts anymore. Every thought or idea stems from something. Even if the person thinking that thing doesn't know it was already thought up, that person still wasn't original..thoughter upper? Sorry couldn't think of a word there xD. Thoughts themselves are infinite, because "I think, therefore I am." For the collective consciousness (and/or unconsciousness) to be finite, would mean our existence to cease, or to become a bunch of empty unmoving shells.
• Kueh wrote on 2011-08-26 07:31

  Quote from Guyverunit4;566336:

  Heh, I was just thinking about this the other day. Personally, I think that, presently, there are no 100% original thoughts anymore. Every thought or idea stems from something. Even if the person thinking that thing doesn't know it was already thought up, that person still wasn't original..thoughter upper? Sorry couldn't think of a word there xD. Thoughts themselves are infinite, because "I think, therefore I am." For the collective consciousness (and/or unconsciousness) to be finite, would mean our existence to cease, or to become a bunch of empty unmoving shells.

  
  
  I'm not really sure what you mean. You said one thing, and then right after said the exact opposite.