A few years ago, Masaru Ibuka, the head of Sony, was at a company planning meeting. Suddenly he had an idea. He stopped the meeting an asked everyone what would happen if Sony took away the recording function and speakers and sold headphones with a tape player instead.
Almost everyone thought he was silly. However Ibuka kept his idea and worked at it. The result, of course, turned out to be the successful Sony Walkman.
Good ideas often start with a really silly question. Bill Bowerman was making breakfast one day. As he stood there making cakes for his son, he asked himself what would happen if he put rubber into his mold(模具) Later, he tried it and the result was something like the bottom of most sports shoes we see today. Still, when he took his idea to several shoe companies, he was laughed at. In fact, every single companyturnedhimdown. Though rather disappointed, Bowerman went on to form his own company, making NIKE sports shoes.
We know today, of course, that each of these ideas caused a successful thing that has changed the way many of us live. The best questions are usually open-ended and are often silly. Children aren't afraid to ask such questions, but adults usually are. Think how different the world might be if people never asked "silly" questions！
