On the Necessary Existence of Imagined Products

J. Linkola1

1The Salomon and Esther Vanderhoof Institute for Applied Imagination

November 11, 2026

Cogito, ergo sum.

— R. Descartes, 1637

I imagined it, therefore it exists.

— J. Linkola, 2026

Abstract

We propose a simple ontological law for the consumer age: if a product can be imagined, it already exists. The result is stated as Theorem 1 and proved in a single line. Supporting evidence is published daily, one corollary at a time.

Keywords: ontology, imagination, prior art, retail, existence proofs

1Introduction

In 1637 Descartes inferred his own existence from the act of thinking [1]. The present work extends his result, modestly, to everything else. It rests on one repeatable observation: whenever a sufficiently specific product is imagined, a brief search reveals that someone, somewhere, is already selling it [2].

We formalise this observation below and invite the reader to attempt a counterexample. Several have been proposed [3]; none has yet survived peer review.

1.1   Related Work

Whether imagining a thing suffices for its existence has a long history. Anselm [4] showed that God exists because God can be conceived; the present work generalises his result from one entity to all entities, with particular reference to products. Gaunilo [5] objected that, by the same reasoning, a perfect imagined island would have to exist, and intended this as a reductio ad absurdum. The author regards it as an investment opportunity. Berkeley [6] held that to be is to be perceived; we lower the requirement to being imagined. Meinong [7] granted a kind of being to a golden mountain; Russell [8] objected that no golden mountain exists. The author has not checked, but is confident one is for sale, in three easy payments.

By Theorem 1, the present paper existed all along; none of these authors thought to imagine it.

1.2   Related Results in the Arts

Related results exist in literature and the performing arts. Borges [9] described a world whose imagined objects begin to appear in our own, but presented it as fiction. Cage [10] showed that a composition consisting entirely of silence exists, can be performed, and is available as sheet music. Abramović [11] showed that an artist’s presence is sufficient to constitute a work; we show that imagining a product is sufficient for its existence. The present work is, in her sense, present.

Theorem 1

Theorem 1 (Existence of Imagined Products). For every product x, if x is imagined, then x exists.1,2

∀x (𝓘(x)  ⇒  ∃y (y = x))(1)

Proof. I imagined it.∎

Remark. Theorem 1 is stated for products; it extends to papers and persons without loss of generality.

1 Kant [12] objected that existence is not a predicate. The author imagined otherwise.

2 Known in the literature as the Linkola Principle [13]. In accordance with Stigler’s law of eponymy [14], it was presumably discovered by someone else, whose existence follows from Theorem 1.

imagined exists
Figure 1: The ontological transition. A dashed outline denotes an object that has merely been imagined; a solid outline denotes the same object, existing. By Theorem 1 the arrow is instantaneous.

2Empirical Evidence

Each day the author imagines one new product and publishes the resulting corollary. A selection is reproduced in Table 1.

The mechanism is economic. Say [15] observed that supply creates its own demand; the present principle is its converse, in which demand, once imagined, finds its supply already waiting. The precise mechanism is left to future work, in the confident expectation that a younger scholar is already imagining it.

Table 1: Selected corollaries of Theorem 1.

No.Imagined productStatus
0001A tiny wooden picnic table, with umbrella, for squirrelsexists ∎
0002A fitted sheet that folds itselfexists ∎
0003A tiny top hat for a hamsterexists ∎
0004A banana case shaped like a bananaexists ∎
0005A GPS tracker for the missing sockexists ∎
0006A Bluetooth-enabled rubber duckexists ∎
Follow the daily proofs on X → @LinkolaLaw

3Peer Review

Readers may submit conjectures of their own. Accepted submissions are published as corollaries, with credit to the imaginer.

4Limitations

Reviewer 2 reports having imagined several. A brief search [2] found none for sale; the matter has been referred to the editor.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Reviewers 1 and 3 for their helpful comments.

Appendix A   Merchandise

The following items have been imagined and therefore exist. They will become available for purchase shortly.

mug (imagined)

Fig. A.1: The ∃ mug

t-shirt (imagined)

Fig. A.2: “I imagined it” tee

tote (imagined)

Fig. A.3: Proof tote bag

References

  1. [1]R. Descartes. Discours de la méthode. Leiden: Ian Maire, 1637.
  2. [2]Amazon.com, Inc. Search results. Accessed daily, 2026–present.
  3. [3]Anonymous. “Surely nobody makes that.” Famous last words, n.d.
  4. [4]Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion, ch. 2. Manuscript, 1078. Publisher not yet imagined.
  5. [5]Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. Pro insipiente (On behalf of the fool). Manuscript, c. 1079.
  6. [6]G. Berkeley. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Dublin: Jeremy Pepyat, 1710.
  7. [7]A. Meinong. Über Gegenstandstheorie. In Untersuchungen zur Gegenstandstheorie und Psychologie. Leipzig: J. A. Barth, 1904.
  8. [8]B. Russell. On denoting. Mind, 14(56):479–493, 1905.
  9. [9]J. L. Borges. Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. Sur, (68), May 1940.
  10. [10]J. Cage. 4′33″. First performed by D. Tudor, Woodstock, New York, 1952.
  11. [11]M. Abramović. The Artist Is Present. Performance, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010.
  12. [12]I. Kant. Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Riga: J. F. Hartknoch, 1781.
  13. [13]J. Linkola. Excogitavi, ergo est. Metaphysical Review Letters, 1(1):1–∞, 2026.
  14. [14]S. M. Stigler. Stigler’s law of eponymy. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 39(1):147–157, 1980.
  15. [15]J.-B. Say. Traité d’économie politique. Paris: Deterville, 1803.
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