Brain Pickings: Similarities: Because It’s All Been Done
RinconCasino
· 10 months ago
that is weird the originality is lost
Logo Design Guru
· 10 months ago
nothing is original anymore. that's part of the fun of being an artist is to take an idea and create something new and different out of it. Good luck out there artists, creativity can be fickle.
danae
· 10 months ago
I always have this weird feeling where I don't know if I am creating something in my mind or if I am just remembering it. I want to be original and I usually work an idea so much that my final designs are something really different from my initial drafts. But somehow, I still have that feeling and I don't like it. It makes me really insecure in my work. :(
Maria Popova
· 10 months ago
Danae:
Well, think of it this way -- everything is a memory, including your own skills. Creativity is simply the ability to pull the right resources from memory at the right time (be they your own skills or the inspiration for your work), that's all there is. So don't be too hard on yourself.
bukoff
· 10 months ago
Isn't saying "Everything is a memory" a little strong? Don't truly new thoughts/ideas/images get created in our heads from a fusion/association of existing memories--allowing us to think of new things beyond the sum of the memories that are there?
Maria Popova
· 10 months ago
Allen:
I suppose, to the extend that "memory" is a literal interpretation of events past. But I was referring to a broader concept that encompasses everything -- experiential memory, sure, but also emotional memory, the pool of fleeting thoughts that once crossed your mind too quick to congeal into ideas and now come back to fully evolve and ripen.
It's semantics, really, but yes, I do agree that the novelty of thought does exist.
Eric
· 10 months ago
This is only depressing if you still cling to the idea that creating something absolutely unique and original is somehow possible. The moment you let go of that... you will feel better. Besides, even if two things are similar, doesn't mean they're not different. Also, all art is meant to communicate something, either for a purpose or because the creator feels the urge to express something. That is a good enough reason to do something, so originality is irrelevant if you focus on the purpose.
All Comments
I want to be original and I usually work an idea so much that my final designs are something really different from my initial drafts. But somehow, I still have that feeling and I don't like it. It makes me really insecure in my work. :(
Well, think of it this way -- everything is a memory, including your own skills. Creativity is simply the ability to pull the right resources from memory at the right time (be they your own skills or the inspiration for your work), that's all there is. So don't be too hard on yourself.
I suppose, to the extend that "memory" is a literal interpretation of events past. But I was referring to a broader concept that encompasses everything -- experiential memory, sure, but also emotional memory, the pool of fleeting thoughts that once crossed your mind too quick to congeal into ideas and now come back to fully evolve and ripen.
It's semantics, really, but yes, I do agree that the novelty of thought does exist.