I have a brilliant idea: I have found "the cure" for CF (cystic fibrosis) and it's a video game! (Now I just need to learn a programming language and write it.)
In this case, I don't think it can really be effectively copied/stolen. I have spent the last 10+ years getting myself well when doctor's claim it cannot be done. My oldest son has the same diagnosis and he is healthier than I am, so it is clearly replicable. The real reason I think the idea is important: I have spent at least five years trying to talk to people and put what I know into words on a website. And, for the most part, people just don't get it. I have concluded that I need a more information-dense delivery mode. I think writing a simulation (aka "game") will do the trick, or at least be far more effective than what I am doing currently.
Like with so many things, "the idea" may be just one piece of the tapestry of things which breathes life into a viable business or project. I was excited to hit upon this idea but remain frustrated at failing to execute (in part because getting myself healthier is still a big part of my life and I also have a full-time job). So I like this idea -- and it's so far not gotten me anywhere.
As CF is a genetic disease, how does a game help ?
To teach lifestyle changes more effectively than the written word can.
Genes don't determine outcome by themselves. Environmental factors play a role, a more significant role than most people seem to realize. Ants and bees know this and use this information to create queens from normal larvae -- ie ants and bees are adept at taking the same genes and getting a vastly different outcome. So it can be done.
(EDIT: There's a website listed in my profile which might give you some idea of what I do for my health. It doesn't convey enough though, so that's where a game would come in, assuming I can ever get there from here.)
In this case, I don't think it can really be effectively copied/stolen. I have spent the last 10+ years getting myself well when doctor's claim it cannot be done. My oldest son has the same diagnosis and he is healthier than I am, so it is clearly replicable. The real reason I think the idea is important: I have spent at least five years trying to talk to people and put what I know into words on a website. And, for the most part, people just don't get it. I have concluded that I need a more information-dense delivery mode. I think writing a simulation (aka "game") will do the trick, or at least be far more effective than what I am doing currently.
Like with so many things, "the idea" may be just one piece of the tapestry of things which breathes life into a viable business or project. I was excited to hit upon this idea but remain frustrated at failing to execute (in part because getting myself healthier is still a big part of my life and I also have a full-time job). So I like this idea -- and it's so far not gotten me anywhere.
Peace.