Sticky Ideas - Richter's Scale

I wanted to share a recent book review published in the Washington Post that I believe ties-in well with Tim Milburn's article Made To Stick Is Better Than Duct Tape! As Tim explains, the authors of  Made To Stick identify six traits that allow the best ideas to rise above the rest.

The Post review examines the book, RICHTER'S SCALE Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man By Susan Elizabeth Hough.  Richter is known for the concept of using magnitude as a measure of earthquake size. According to the article, one of Richter's colleagues, seismologist Beno Gutenberg, deserves just as much credit for developing the scale. However, it was Richter who communicated the core idea in such a way that connected with the audience.

Some of the most gifted scientists "are not necessarily the ones who make the most profound, or the most enduring, contributions. Nor are they necessarily the ones whose contributions capture the public imagination, or the ones whose contributions have the largest societal impact." Richter's ability to communicate his findings with a general audience through the press, Hough demonstrates, gave him the kind of public profile that cemented his position in the popular lexicon.