In recent years, there’s been a quest, on social media and the like, to appeal to reason, and search for a reasonable response to any contentious issue. Which is fair enough; we know that extremism is a hugely destructive force.

There’s even a legal test of reasonableness; in any given case, what would the reasonable person do? That helps to establish fairness and equity, even social justice, and has been relied on by the courts in many countries for decades.

But we all know that to change the world, all you need is an unreasonable human. Someone who swims against the tide, who bucks the trends; a contrarian. A maverick, who doesn’t believe in conventional wisdom, or accepted best practice.

Someone with crazy ideas, like landing a rocket on a drone ship, repeatedly; or growing coronavirus antibodies in tobacco plants; or providing a platform for your competitors to sell their products on your website. How about a self-confessed mad scientist who builds AI technology and gives it away for free?

Now we have real-life drone racing and bionic eyes that give you night vision; hands-free highway cruising and hydrogen trucks, which is pretty cool. And crazy people working on fusion energy, which most of us think is nuts.

So here’s to the crazy ones, the upstarts, and the rule-breakers. And when someone tells you to “Be reasonable!” just say: “No, thanks.”