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One of the big downsides of the internet is the cold water it constantly pours on my idea of my own originality. Every time I think of a great idea I find someone else has already thought of it

(well, almost every time)



> Every time I think of a great idea I find someone else has already thought of it

that's because an idea's greatness does not come from the creator, but from the other people affected by the idea. And most ideas dont affect anyone.


That does not make it a etter or worse idea though. Realistically, most people will only ever have ideas that someone else somewhere else will already have had.

Does that mean, that the idea is commonly known? Not necessarily.

It is also still an original idea in terms of you having thought, that was not easily derived from what you know (but probably somehow derived, like all thought likely is).


Originality does not exist, humans are not capable of purely original thought.

Closest you can get are unique sentences.


If this was true then we would all be thought-free, unless every thought a human has thunk originally came from our non-human ancestors


Collective (un)concious, yes.

There is no parallel chains of unconnected thought.

We are barely, rarely more than the sum of our parts on average.

We have very convincing illusions of free will though - like the apparent exhibition of agency.




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