How ED proves that ideas have an expiry date

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. —Galileo Galilei 

Just finished reading Zoobiguity—a beautifully written book loaded with fascinating material. I don’t have time to tell you more about it, but since the title of this story suggests that I will try to link two important yet seemingly unrelated topics, let me get right to it.

Question: What do you think is the number one reason why men visit doctors nowadays? It’s ED, aka erectile dysfunction. For far too long, doctors used to think ED developed out of inevitable yet vague factors like aging and hormonal imbalances—or that it was entirely psychological. According to Arthur L. Burnett, an expert in neurology at Johns Hopkins University, our understanding of ED has done an about face. Today, ED is seen as a truly physical problem.

In short, human erections are utterly dependent on blood flow. That’s why conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, basically pretty much anything that impedes the proper flow of blood around the body, can induce or aggravate ED.

My 2¢:
In life and in business, ideas have a shelf-life.
Countless people don’t seem to be willing to accept the notion that ideas have a shelf-life.
Don’t be one of them.

P.S.
Why are STILL so many people not willing to make changes to their lifestyles and diets so that they could lead healthier lives? The body of evidence is stupendous, isn’t it? The short answer:
a. Because they confuse habit with thinking. Most of us believe that we are always thinking; it’s not true.
b. Diffusion of Innovations theory.

A quick reminder: Diffusion of innovations is a theory that explains at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. Everett Rogers popularized the theory in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations.

As you can see from the above graph, in a typical population, the grand percentage of opinion leaders and early adopters is only approx. 16%. Those who know me well know that one of my favourite phrases is: What’s so great about being typical? Do you need more reasons not be be typical?

Dec 2, 2012