I think that football games should only have three quarters. Okay, that makes no sense. Three thirds? Or what about four quarters that last for 10 minutes each?

Sure, Saturday's game versus Texas A&M University was fun, but it was too long. It was too hot. A lot of students got sunburned.

It's only football. We can just change the rules.

I realize that some of the people reading this agree with me. I realize that some of the people reading this are thinking I'm a stupid girl who knows nothing. This last group of people will simply dismiss me.

Dismissing someone else's new idea is often very easy — much less time-consuming than reflecting on the idea. But easier is not always better.

In case you're wondering, this column is not about shortening football games. I only mentioned that idea to get your attention. But what I want to talk about is embracing new and unfamiliar concepts.

New ideas force us to examine and refine our old ideas. Humans once thought that the Earth was flat. We'd still be thinking that today if no one had come up with the crazy idea that the Earth was round.

Examining new ideas is important in more than modern science. Looking at someone else's point of view on religion, politics or just about anything else helps to refine our own ideas. Sometimes exploring new concepts will make us realize our old ideas were wrong. Other times, we will grow to believe more strongly in the ideas we have.

It is a dangerous thing to accept ideas simply because they are traditional. A lot of Americans accepted Jim Crow laws and dismissed the Civil Rights movement. Thankfully, a lot of other Americans examined discriminatory laws, realized they were wrong and embraced civil rights. While America today is by no means perfect, it is a better place than it was a few decades ago during the height of segregation.

Too often at Notre Dame — and in life in general — people avoid new ideas, points-of-view or experiences because what is new can seem irrelevant, strange or impractical.

You might think worrying about the length of football games is unimportant. Or you might think that shortening football games is a silly idea. I would have to agree with you.

But people used to say it was silly to think the world was round.

• New Ideas, New Beliefs