Innovation comes from remixing what we already have.

I’ve written frequently about the myth that creative genius is the product of solitary inspiration and the ways that myth reinforces notions of intellectual property that, under the pretense of rewarding innovation, in fact stifle innovation by preventing the re-use and remixing of existing ideas, creations, and inventions. In reviewing Steven Johnson‘s Where New Ideas Come From, Paul Crowe makes the point that

Greek philosophers said nothing comes from nothing, a new idea, actually a new anything, is simply a rearrangement or unique new combination of things that already exist. When you think of it that way, coming up with new ideas isn’t about having that mysterious “creative” ability, it might be more about a willingness to try lots of new combinations to see what might work, and, hey, anyone can do that, you just need desire and effort.

Steven Johnson, Lawrence Lessig, & Shepard Fairey at the NY Public Library on Mashup & Remix