Creating Knowledge: The Low Hanging Fruit Theory

There’s something I’ve been fascinated by lately - for the sake of simplicity, I’ll call it the “Low Hanging Fruit Theory,” for, to my knowledge, it's never been given an official name. Essentially, what the theory states is that nearly all of the easy-to-discover ideas have already been discovered. Hence the name, low hanging fruit. Consequently, the ideas left require increasing efforts to even come within reach. 

Empirically and anecdotally, this theory seems to have some merit, and those attempting to argue in favor of it will likely have an easier time doing so than those who would disagree. Its prevalence is especially noticeable in fields of natural philosophy, such as physics. A proponent of this theory would point to the increasingly more challenging bar to enter specific fields. This effect is created by the requirement of preliminary knowledge to sufficiently contribute to the creation of new knowledge. This can be drawn back to the fruit and tree metaphor. The first person to visit the tree need only extend their hand upward and grab the fruit. After all the fruit within arm’s reach is plucked, new measures need to be taken. A ladder, for example, could be built to reach the remaining fruit. Naturally, however, building a ladder requires more effort than simply walking up to the tree and grabbing the fruit. 

With physics for example, hundreds of years ago, intellectual inquiry was aimed at answering questions such as “why does gravity work” and “how is the area under a curve calculated.” While these were (and still are) monumental discoveries, what’s changed is the fact that they were once on the cutting edge of knowledge. That isn’t to say that the discoveries of Newton and Leibniz weren’t impressive, just that they have since been moved from the frontier of our knowledge to being a  prerequisite for newer ideas on the frontier.

Similar to natural philosophy, what we may call “pure” philosophy exhibits similar behaviors in accordance with the Low Hanging Fruit Theory. This can be seen in the shift from the production of novel work and thinking to critique and analysis, which is most prevalent now in modern academia. Perhaps, this could reflect an apparent exhaustion of the lowest hanging philosophical ideas, thus resulting in the modern turn toward critique. 

Provided the rapid changes in academic and technological environments, this theory will be a vital consideration. The ultimate question, however, will be what’s more worthwhile pursuing: the remaining, undiscovered low hanging fruit or the high hanging fruit on the same tree whose lower boughs have already been picked.