The Creative Remix: Unveiling the Myth of Originality
Hey, friend, welcome back to my weekly newsletter after a week's break; I hope you are doing well. You and I always think of doing something unique which has not been done by anyone yet...
You and I always think of doing something unique that has not been done by anyone yet. When we analyze around ourselves what others do, we make the assumption they have something unique in their art. But there is great FALLACY in this. I am reading a book named "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon, in which he talks about how everything is not worth stealing, but If something is worth it, steal like an artist, as all other creative people do.
When people call something "original," nine out of ten times, they just don't know the references or the sources.
— Jonathan Lethem
The author also gives the example of genetics; like you and I have the remix of our parents and ancestors, we possess features from them in some way or another.
There is nothing new under the sun.
— Bible (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Garbage in, Garbage Out
What you think and what your ideas are come from the surroundings you have. Our job is to collect good ideas, and ideas come from what you choose to be influenced by. We learn by copying; the author talks about the practice, not plagiarism—plagiarism is trying to pass someone else's work as your own; copying is like reverse engineering, like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works. If you copy from one, it's plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it's research.
Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy, you will find yourself.
— Yohji Yamamoto
School Yourself
The best part of the book for me yet. The author talks about how schooling is different from education. It's your job to educate yourself, whether you are in school or not. You have to be curious about the world you live in, do research, chase down every reference, and Google everything. Go deeper, and read books and bibliographies. Either you will find your answer or come up with a better question.
What is originality? Undetected Plagiarism.
— William Ralph Inge
That's it from my side. I hope you like my effort to put this stuff in front of you. This book has a lot more interesting topics, which I'll try to cover in an upcoming newsletter. Until then, please share your valuable feedback and share it with your fellas. Good Bye...
Note: This is not the complete book overview, so be gentle.