The introduction to a book called “An Anthology of Partly Baked Ideas” states that it was compiled to provide an opportunity for the publication of ideas either half or partly baked, which might not otherwise be suitable for publication in established learned journals.

However, the Royal Aeronautical Society's decision to solicit articles on aeronautical achievement in the latter half of the twenty-first century is a direct invitation from a learned society to expound on, what at best, can only be some very partly baked ideas.

The author of this admirable anthology, I. J. Good, has defined partly baked ideas (PBIs) in some detail in the opening chapters where he gives a clear indication that reputable scientists and engineers should at very least endeavour to incubate their proposals to the point where the degree of “bakedness” should be greater than 0·5, i.e. better than half-baked.