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May 12, 2012
Lumia

Why there's no such thing as an original idea



Mark Twain is often lauded as the “the greatest American humorist of his age.” His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and made him a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty alike. Even more importantly it left us with a lasting legacy of fantastic one liners, and unique insights into all facets of human endeavour. One that recently got us thinking came to light in Mark Twain’s Letters, Vol. 2 of 2 where he tackles the idea that there’s no such thing as a truly original idea. Here’s what he had to say

“The kernel, the soul — let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances — is plagiarism.”

It’s part of a pretty convincing argument. To read the rest, check out the link above.