On originality
Apr. 25th, 2026 03:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
posicScott D. Clary writes in Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/scottdclarypage/posts/pfbid0341Q4rRExLKRui89wJHQVwsrSVUWsDskofkgMCPGYjwvzWiZwQNZktaYsXdo1AWA8l :
Something I realized about originality: Nobody is original. Everybody is a remix of the five people who influenced them most. The trick isn't being original. It's choosing your five inputs deliberately instead of absorbing whatever the algorithm serves you. Curated inputs produce distinctive outputs.
***
Well, I do believe that I am original. I am not a remix of any five people. Which five people? Vaintrob and Finkelberg? Tsygan and Feigin? Beilinson and Voevodsky? Eilenberg and Moore? Serre and Grothendieck? The notion is ridiculous as applied to me.
And if you don't believe me about myself, you can consider any one of the ten people mentioned above. Who of them is/was a remix of whom?
Вообще, наверное, вряд ли какая-либо постановка вопроса иллюстрирует разницу между бизнесом и наукой ярче, чем эта.
Something I realized about originality: Nobody is original. Everybody is a remix of the five people who influenced them most. The trick isn't being original. It's choosing your five inputs deliberately instead of absorbing whatever the algorithm serves you. Curated inputs produce distinctive outputs.
***
Well, I do believe that I am original. I am not a remix of any five people. Which five people? Vaintrob and Finkelberg? Tsygan and Feigin? Beilinson and Voevodsky? Eilenberg and Moore? Serre and Grothendieck? The notion is ridiculous as applied to me.
And if you don't believe me about myself, you can consider any one of the ten people mentioned above. Who of them is/was a remix of whom?
Вообще, наверное, вряд ли какая-либо постановка вопроса иллюстрирует разницу между бизнесом и наукой ярче, чем эта.
Thoughts
Date: 2026-04-26 07:35 am (UTC)I've heard this before. It does not match my experience. I very often hear "Where the hell did that come from?" when I say or do things, because I am far from most bell curves. And I gravitate to people who are also far out.
It's not just in person either. As an editor, I've seen the occasional writer who is just totally off the map. Bard Bloom is good example. I love his work, I'm a worldwalker, and it still leaves me going, "Where were you? What dimension even is this?"
Sure a lot of culture and entertainment is rehash, but not all of it is. Somebody had to be the first person to look at a pencil lead and think, "I am going to make this into a tiny sculpture." And I would bet their friends all went, "Where the hell did you get that idea? Dude, that is nuts."