Pfft, that’s original

It frustrates me that I haven’t figured out a quick way to defend against the “pfft, that’s original” criticism. It seems to be a conversation ender on par with “There’s no chemistry between us.” I mean how do you respond to that? “Yeah-huh”?

With enough time, I might be able to build a defense around the theory that there is not really such a thing as original thought—that the best we can do is combine old ideas in new ways. I could further elaborate that that’s nothing to be ashamed of because the essence of creativity and of thought more generally is combining old ideas in new ways—that that is literally what a thought is. Old ideas are just the raw materials with which we create “progress.”

But I’m boring myself with that defense. Plus, it seems unlikely that someone who invokes the “pfft, that’s original” criticism would be amenable to a philosophical theory of (un)originality.

The only way to fight mockery is with mockery. If someone puts up a sign saying “God hates homosexuals,” the best defense is not to reason with them about their god’s views, but rather to put up a sign next to it that says, “God hates signs.”

(That’s an important point, and I hope to write more on it soon.)

I haven’t been able to figure out a good way to mock the “pfft, that’s original” criticism. You could try something like, “Pfft, that criticism is original,” but it lacks a certain bite. And we so badly need a good, quick defense against this crap.

Using originality as a basis to judge the value of an idea just really scrunches my undies, especially when there is no reason why originality should matter. If we’re talking about a business idea, fine, you may have a point there (but I still doubt it), but if we’re talking about experiences, theories, or insights, then you better back the eff off. I don’t care how “old” the idea is if it is expressed or presented in a way that inspires me.

That’s why I think it might be more important to consume good writing (or film or speech or whatever) than it is to consume good [“new”] ideas.