archetypus

Have you ever gone to write a story, compose a song, draw a picture, or create something only to find that you're unable to make something novel?

What about romance novels?  If you've read one, you've read them all...same with listening to Taylor Swift songs.
(Please do not take the above statement and conclude that I am a reader of romance novels.  Or that I listen to Taylor Swift.  Because you would be sorely mistaken.)

But even good music and books and artwork isn't original.  No doubt you've been reading a book, and you've gotten to a certain point that has reminded you of another book you read once before.  I'm not saying that the entire book is unoriginal, but that there are pieces of it that are linked to pieces of other things.

Like a patchwork quilt.

Here is a scenario to illustrate this idea:

"I baked you a pie!"

"Oh boy, what flavor?"

"Universe flavor."

It's universe flavored because of this nifty quote I got from John Green: (not sure if he was quoting or not, though I think that is likely the case.)

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

We're constantly playing off and building from other people's ideas, discoveries, passions, and work in general.

Basically, nothing I post is my own...nothing is original, and it's better that way.  Because it makes us realize just how dependent we are on other humans.  Not only Copernican theory and Beethoven's Seventh and the Cartesian plane, but also Grandma's recipes and what your parents did in college and the fact that your big sister plays soccer.  But this is nice because we aren't constantly reinventing the wheel, and it promotes the unity and progression of humanity in general.  Which I guess is a nice side effect.

So yeah, all this time you've been reading a blog full of other people's ideas.  I've put my twist on them and presented them to you, and now they're your ideas too, and they belong to you just as much as did to me, and as much as they did to person before. (Sharing is caring!) So take them and run! And by run, I don't mean "flee from the law now that you've stolen other people's ideas", I mean take them somewhere new.  Share the things that you love and that impress you with people whom you love and who impress you.  Add a little bit of you to them. 

Ultimately, we'll end up with one huge conglomeration of the same story over and over, and it will be lovely.  We'll have invented the universe.