- You deny that the new innovation is worthwhile.
- You say things like ‘That will never scale’ or ‘That was done back in the 80s and no one used it’
- Whenever anyone mentions the new innovation, you present a laundry list of reasons why it won’t work.
- You actively unsubscribe from blogs who rave about the new innovation
- You snort with derision and roll your eyes when you see the innovation on a resume
- You engage in flame wars with advocates of the innovation
- The phrase “propeller head” appears in your writing, as does the phrase “Blah, blah, blah, I am so sick of hearing about ___”
- You look for ways to justify your disinterest, in the face of clear market interest in the innovation
- You say things like ‘Yes, but without support for XYZ, it’s dead in the water.’
- You’ll buy books that include the new innovation, but only as long as they also include something else you’re really fond of. For example:
- Agile Development and XML – the forgotten connection
- Monads and Method Invocations – How Haskell is just like Introspection
- At conferences, you’ll visit the session about the new innovation, but you’ll leave early.
- You start to feel tired, because the world is changing around you
- You say things like “I’m too old for this shit.”
- You feel stupid, because the new innovation just doesn’t quite seem to make sense
- Finally, you realize that everyone’s figuring out the new innovation, and it’s all a big mess.
- You read blogs or news articles and you say things like “Wow, they don’t know what to do with it either!”
- If you’re entrepreneurially inclined, you start to think about how you could build a startup around the innovation and retire early and rich.
For most innovations, many people will never move past anger.
(Compare and contrast with The 5 stages of fanboi-ism)