“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.” —David Bowie
One thing I always look forward to at the end of the year is the year in review mashups. A common criticism of people who dismiss mashups in general is that they aren’t original. That the artist isn’t playing an instrument, they’re just pressing buttons on a computer. And anyone could do that…
The problem with this belief is that everyone steals ideas. Whether you realize it or not, your “original” ideas are likely just a combination of other peoples ideas. Every idea has a family tree. If you study one idea long enough you can trace it back to the origin. To create something original doesn’t mean you have to start with an original idea, that just has to be your destination. Many great ideas are the love child of two pretty good ideas. Once you overcome this mental paralysis, it’s easier to come up with ideas.
I’ve heard the exact same story told by different people in different contexts. Neither of them conducted the study they were referencing, but they each told the story in their own voice and used it to make a larger point.
Below is one of my favorite stories about creativity and how people think. Watch the video then read one of my favorite bloggers tell the same story.
“Nullum est iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.” – Terence
I know you’re a James Altucher fan too; among the many suggestions that he has which I like is the one to make two ideas have sex and see what comes out. In a sense, the mashups are actually indicative of that creativity, e.g. “How can I make the latest Britney Spears and Jay-Z hits sound good together?”
To me, trying to think of something *completely* new that has never been thought of before is nearly impossible. I simply do not have the expertise, experience, or time on this earth remaining to be able to go to the far edge of knowledge and come up with that revolutionary “a-ha” moment. Neither, honestly, am I smart enough to do so. Instead, I try to find where other people have gone to the edge and then see if I can find the parallels. It takes less string to tie two ideas together.
I’m an Altucher fan. I’m pretty sure he got that concept from the book “The Rational Optimist” which that author might have lifted from somewhere else too.
This is a great example of watching the progression of stealing/building upon ideas of others in music:
The path to creating something new always starts with building upon something that already exists or combining it with something else.