Are originality and creativity the same thing?

 This is a copy of the first post on my blog, which you can find here.

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Originality, it's something that is very difficult for people to capture, even when people think they're being original, chances are they're probably 'copying' some other person's idea that has existed at some point in time. But are they actually 'copying'? I mean, everyone gets ideas and I'm sure at some point in the future somebody will want to create a blog similar to mine with the same name but then find out it's already taken, are they copying me? Well I don't think so, if they never knew I existed I don't think it's copying. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines copy as follows: "Something that is or looks exactly or almost exactly like something else : a version of something that is identical or almost identical to the original." This definition doesn't imply agency to 'replicate' another persons work, inventions or ideas. Also it's good to note that the definition of the word copy differs between dictionaries and people.

One thing we do know for certain is that people do intentionally copy other peoples work and ideas, one example of this is Aldi's copycat brands. These copycats are clearly no freak accident and are designed to replicate the product but provide it for a cheaper cost, this is a pretty clever business ploy, assuming you don't get done for plagiarism.

Evidently given enough time people will produce ideas and creations that have been done before but I don't think that's copying, even on a subconscious level people mimic others and get inspired by them, that's just unavoidable. What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe that creativity and originality are the same. If I lived in a secluded area with no access to the rest of society and I created a computer, in my world I invented it. I made the computer from my own creativity but that doesn't mean it was an original idea. The computer is a good idea, it doesn't matter who invented it, it was going to happen given enough time, I'm sure if Aliens exist they've invented the computer as well.

Good ideas that people are aware of are recycled by society and are reproduced even if it's not a very creative thing to do, this is because it's easy and the idea clearly works. Take the classic fantasy genre with elves and dwarves for example, this been done so many times that there are probably tens of thousands of made up universes out there, but they're all fundamentally the same and a lot of them draw inspiration from  Tolkien,  Dungeons & Dragons and various ancient myths. But does this make unoriginality bad? I don't believe it does, ideas get recycled because people enjoy them. Sure, it doesn't involve a lot of effort to create a fantasy universe if you're just going to copy paste ideas from other peoples works and then put your name on it and a tweak a few things, but if people enjoy your content and it's not actively trying to hurt the original then I don't see anything wrong with it. George R.R. Martin for example the writer of the popular 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series was heavily inspired by Tolkien and the War of the Roses but he has made sure to add lots of his own creative touches. Tolkien wasn't 100% original either, lots of his work is inspired by Norse and Saxon mythology and culture.

Lots of people enjoy the same things. The real question isn't whether originality and creativity are the same thing, the real question is do people produce unoriginal and uncreative content and do people enjoy it? As far as I can tell, they do.