I can and will only speak about my own culture. It wouldn't be fair or right to speak about anyone else's.
1. They sometimes have a different way of looking at a situation and come up therefore with different answers. An Australian nurse once came up with a new way of dealing with children who had managed to survive polio. Her view was to exercise the muscles to get the dormant limbs moving again. The normal view of the medical profession at the time was to put the limbs into confinement. She was correct but it took a while for the medical profession to acknowledge this. Her methods took off in the USA where people were desperate for new answers. She upset a lot of doctors getting the results she got.
2. They have a hard time tolerating fools who cannot see what they can clearly see. This can earn them enemies.
3. They can arise from any strata of society. Bonaparte, the great military strategist, came from humble beginnings. His rise to power in France no doubt upset a lot of people.
4. They can set new standards in belief that not everyone in society can understand or tolerate. This was true of Martin Luther. Strangely enough, it was also true of Martin Luther King - especially when it came to his 'I have a dream...' speech.
5. They can make others think and that can be dangerous. One of the most dangerous books ever written was George Orwell's 1984.
6. They can literally change our world. The invention of movable type meant books could be made cheaply enough for ordinary people to be able to afford to buy and read. It also meant that pamphlets could be printed cheaply and quickly distributed to convey new ideas. The Protestant revolution would not have happened in the way that it did without the printing press and movable type. Now we have computers and the internet and communication and ideas flow and it is very difficult for any government to completely control this.
7. Sometimes we can expect too much from them and so when they fail they fail in a big way. Prime Minister Churchill it should be noted had as many great failures as he did successes but he will be mainly remembered for his successes.
8. They don't always realize the kind of power they can and sometimes do wield.
9. They are not always reasonable people though they do use reason.
10. They are not always understood in their life time but later on. William Blake, the poet, would be a good example of this.
