a theory from the 1970s on how to turn a bad idea into a good idea (and a good idea into a great one)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.comThere’s a 1971 academic article that I’ve been thinking about a LOT lately. It’s called “That’s Interesting!” It’s by a sociologist named Murray Davis, and it is technically about how to develop academic theories that people actually give a s**t about — ideas that are not just important, but are also interesting. I read it as part of my PhD research, but while I was I kept thinking: this is copywriting. This is pitching. This is why some content makes you stop scrolling and some doesn’t. This is MARKETING, B***H. This is how to stress-test any idea for sticky-ness. This is how to come up with ideas that make you a thought leader.Davis’s central argument is that a theory becomes important not because it’s true, but because it’s interesting. Truth has almost nothing to do with influence. (See: the entire internet.) What makes an idea sticky is that it disturbs something the audience already assumed. It catches them mid-expectation and redirects them somewhere they didn’t see coming.Quick aside for holographic repatterning healer rec: