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Originality vs Creativity (CT #2)

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz



Originality vs Creativity
Discussion on Psychology about Ideas
Creative Tutorial #2

146161d1434628629-originality-vs-creativity-ct-2-original.jpg


Let's start this tutorial / discussion with two rather obvious
questions which will take the scope of this thread:
1. What is originality?
2. What is creativity?

Originality


noun
the ability to think independently and creatively.
the quality of being novel or unusual.


Often times people are considered "original" when they have thought of
a concept, idea or a set of mechanics that others either didn't or didn't
to the degree the person did. Originality isn't something we ourselves
praise ourselves, rather other people praise us. The ability to think of
something new, something else than what the mass is thinking, that
might be the mark of a great inventor. But is originality "good?"

The problem with originality is that people stress on it too much. I will
talk about myself for a moment. I for example, cannot bear to hear or
read that I am not original. I'd like to think that others can bear the same
weight as me, cuz that makes me feel better about myself. But is this
really the case? Is originality the end all mean all? Or is there something
beneath the factory of all ideas that we as inventors are missing?

I believe the concept originated somewhere in early childhood. People are
praised for what they show, and teachers being seen as authoritarian role
models that we as children compete to please - we all are given a chance to
show "how original we are". Especially in creative classes, like art, music or
computer science. We get to experience the jolt of excitement and passion
when our idea, work or creation has been deemed "good, worthy". This is
as addicting as any drug, because now we are also given a title "worthy
inventor" and we must continually prove ourselves to others of how
original our ideas are. This is the loop of a genius inventor, the cross
that he/she bears on his/her shoulders is the constant need to impress others.

But what was once an exciting process of creating something, now became
a burden, a process, a ritual that we are either unhappy or neutral about. Its
the need to be original that is the evil within the invention itself. The self
pressure that inventors do brings about huge amounts of stress and agony.
Why you ask? Because from a sea of "original" ideas, an inventor has to find
matching pieces and link them together before anyone else does. Its an arena
where gladiators are inventors and where weapons are the ideas. The crowd is
always cheering, restless to deem something as good or bad.

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Creativity

noun

the state or quality of being creative. the ability to transcend
traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and
to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations,
etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination


Now is it me, or does both terms are labeled as being innovative in our
dictionary? Yes it is. So are these two terms different or completely the same?

Both. You see, back to my "please the teacher" game, creativity is a tool used
both for and against you. Creativity is the "excuse" we are given when our
work has been deemed "good, worthy". The teacher's praise often comes in
the terms "Look at X, how creative he/she is". That is public approval, because
it comes from an authoritarian figure that everyone either respects or fears.
This also nets you envy, hate or jealousy from others that weren't deemed
"creative". You just made yourself lots of enemies and you don't even know
it. The next time you show your work, others will criticize it, bash it down
and beat it like a dead horse, because this is an arena of praise and glory.

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But enough about that. So what really is creativity other than an excuse?
It's the process, the brainstorm or the flood of ideas that a person
gets when consciously or often unconsciously thinking about a particular
subject. These ideas just flow from "the void" to people, and often nobody
can explain why or where did these ideas come from. They are just.. there.

These ideas either serve the person as they give you stepping stones on
progression from your "original" idea, or they serve as a filter about things
not to include in your creation. Either way, its a flood of ideas, positive or
negative about a particular subject or idea. That's what creativity is all about.
It has nothing to do with originality. Leave the dictionary explanation. That
is written by the same people that praised or bashed down your innovation.
It has nothing to do with originality. It has to do with creation.

People focus too much on the fact that being creative is being original.
They do this by filtering what already exists and try to circumvent it.
By this logic, people don't want to create. They want to prove their originality.
Do you feel unoriginal when building a house? Its most likely that your house
is an idea from another house from another house from another house. Do
you bash yourself about how your house is "unoriginal" and feel bad about it?
Not always maybe, but often no. You don't care that your house isn't
original, its fun making it. This is what creativity is. The fun of experiencing
the process of manifestation of an idea or its practice.
It has nothing to do
with show and tell. It has nothing to do with praise and approval. It has all
to do with having fun and seeing the progression from idea to materialism.

This is a natural state that children live in. Its called creativity for a reason.
They care not what corrupted adult minds think of it. And often times the
adult will label these things as "silly, unbaked, illogical, childish" because
its them that got cut from their creativity when they were children and
they had to "grow up". Its nothing more than brainwashing. Simple as that.

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Leave the loop. Stop being original. Start being creative. Find your creativity.
Do it because its fun. No matter how silly it may look to others. You're the
artist, you're the inventor. Leave others from your picture and let them paint
for themselves. You are creating for yourself, not for others. Even if you are
selling your idea to others, its still your own representation of your own
creativity. Not theirs. Never theirs.

That's all I had to share. Hope you had fun reading. If not, sue me.
I did went too much into psychology and spirituality but this thread should
be used to examine your base roots behind making games and maps. It
should give you a good baseline for questions to ask yourself why do you
do it, and what do you expect out of it. Criticism is only bad when you expect
praise and approval from others rather than caring not what they think.

Further References


 

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Last edited by a moderator:
I enjoyed reading this. It is definitely something I've mulled over--and this article is pretty nice as a motivational tool. Originality isn't inherently bad, but it is definitely overrated. Whether it is a story, a game, or a song, originality falls behind execution. And that, in my opinion, is the outlet for creativity.

But enough of that, I definitely approve of the material in this. But I would like other opinions (or your own opinion) in whether this is appropriate as a tutorial or whether it is better placed in an appropriate forum for discussion, e.g. off-topic. I feel as those these sorts of articles are meant to provoke thought and discussion, rather than 'guide' someone. Let me know what you think.
 
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Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
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Well, I suppose this is one of the tutorials that are meant to provoke thought as a method of learning. It fits both as a point of discussion and as a tutorial. The question then is whether tutorials should all be the walkthrough type(teaching a specific method) or do philosophical essays also count as tutorials(teaching a way of thinking?).
 

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz

I enjoyed reading this. It is definitely something I've mulled over--and this article is pretty nice as a motivational tool. Originality isn't inherently bad, but it is definitely overrated. Whether it is a story, a game, or a song, originality falls behind execution. And that, in my opinion, is the outlet for creativity.

But enough of that, I definitely approve of the material in this. But I would like other opinions (or your own opinion) in whether this is appropriate as a tutorial or whether it is better placed in an appropriate forum for discussion, e.g. off-topic. I feel as those these sorts of articles are meant to provoke thought and discussion, rather than 'guide' someone. Let me know what you think.

Tutorial may be a word for something practical, whether this is more of a guide, discussion, point of view. I definitely see your point.

Also glad you enjoyed it.

Well, I suppose this is one of the tutorials that are meant to provoke thought as a method of learning. It fits both as a point of discussion and as a tutorial. The question then is whether tutorials should all be the walkthrough type(teaching a specific method) or do philosophical essays also count as tutorials(teaching a way of thinking?).

Teaching may be the word we are looking for.
 

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz

Approved.

edit: Although, you should attach the images to the main post rather than link them by URL (so that the images don't die randomly at some point in the future). The images aren't necessary though, just nice to have, so it is still approved.

Awesome.

You mean upload them to the post, then use URL tags to show them?
 
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