The man with a new idea is a Crank until the idea succeeds.

Chapter XXXII of Following the Equator opens with this epigraph, attributed in Mark Twain's book to Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar. The sentence describes a change in reputation that follows success. An idea first treated as evidence of eccentricity can later make its originator appear obvious, admirable, or ahead of everyone else. The social verdict moves after the outcome, then often forgets how confidently it began.

The observation should not be inverted into a guarantee that every dismissed idea is brilliant. Some new ideas fail for good reasons. Twain's useful target is hindsight: the habit of judging the earlier uncertainty as though the later result had always been available. A more careful response leaves room for testing. What would show whether the idea works? What evidence could change the judgment? Curiosity and skepticism can share that task without either ridicule or automatic celebration having to settle it first.

The tuxedo cat comfortably occupying a narrow cardboard box supplies a wonderfully practical proposal. The fit may look unconventional, but it can be assessed by the ordinary result: the cat is in the box. Human innovations usually need more demanding tests. Still, the photograph gives the sentence an appealing little demonstration. Sometimes an arrangement that looked ridiculous from outside becomes easier to understand once somebody has actually made it work.