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See this question: An exotic yet portable powersource

I love it. I totally LOVE it, but...

Isn't it idea generation question? And if not, what makes it not idea generation?

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  • $\begingroup$ I am not entirely sure why but I am inclined to allow this question even though I agree it feels like idea generation. Maybe its that it is science based and we aren't all experts. I also feel that answers will be reusable by other people. $\endgroup$
    – James
    Mar 5, 2015 at 16:35

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What's wrong with "idea generation" questions?

  • There are too many possible answers to the question (Idea Generation is a subset of Too Broad)
  • There is no objective way to evaluate one idea as better than others

A common symptom is that answers will tend to list a number of different possibilities rather than expanding on one. This is a consequence of the first problem, as the person posting the response has no way to know which of their ideas are better.

This is science-based, asking for something specific (portable powerful energy sources), answers can be rated based on reasonableness, plausibility, and appropriateness.

I agree it's on the edge but in my opinion it has got a sufficiently constrained answer set to make it workable, and as a result no-one has seen fit to close it.

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  • $\begingroup$ First I wanted to post my close vote, but my inner editor told me not to. But I wanted to make clear why is it so. And I agree, it is quite on edge to me too, but answerable. Thanks for your opinion $\endgroup$ Mar 5, 2015 at 14:48

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