The Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared", is unquestionably a Great Idea — and if the opposite of every Great Idea is also a Great Idea, then what's the opposite of "Be Prepared"?

Well, maybe it's not strictly opposite, but consider the complementary concept: Don't overprepare. That is, don't invest too much effort in getting ready for things that (probably) won't happen. "Waste not, want not", or "Walk lightly on the Earth".

And then, joining the two conjugate notions together: Be prepared to be surprised!

(see also Great Ideas (3 May 1999), ...)

TopicLife - TopicHumor - 2004-11-09

(correlates: GreatIdeas, ExtractTraction, ProofsAndRefutations, ...)