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

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-twelfth-house-1329194/a-theory-from-the-1970s-on-how-to-turn-a-bad-idea-into-a-good-idea-and-a-good-idea-into-a-great-one
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Podcast: [The Twelfth House](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-twelfth-house-1329194)
Published: 2026-04-05T12:23:39+00:00
Episode link: https://thetwelfthhouse.substack.com/p/a-theory-from-the-1970s-on-how-to
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193230062/6b7bd270f1d7ee8270a9cc5fd75fd5b2.mp3
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Duration seconds: 343

## Resource

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thetwelfthhouse.substack.com There’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:

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