The most novel proposals got the worst ratings. “Everyone dislikes novelty,” lead author Karim Lakhani explained to me, and “experts tend to be overcritical of proposals in their own domain.” Extremely familiar proposals fared a little bit better, but they also received lower scores. The highest evaluation scores went to submissions that were deemed slightly new. There is an “optimal newness” for ideas, Lakhani said—advanced yet acceptable.
