As told to Chris Ball by Deepak Chopra:
> 1. what is the nature of originality?
Original items have sources that have been mixed to the point of
untraceability. They have origins. All things have origins.
Or, wait a minute.
Original items can't be recognized until later. A new item can't be
original until it originates something else. Because things are only
original in stories. Are there original items that don't originate anything
else?
Nature?
Oh. Trick question. There is no nature in originality, it is a
cultural construct. It is a cult. It is a cult of personality. It is a
cult of individuality. It's a phase cultures pass into. They pass out.
Way to go. It is a story.
Which forest is the most original. See?
Source?
Untraceable?
New? ?
> 2. what's the difference between "original" and "unique"?
All items are unique. Not all items have sources that have been mixed to
the point of untraceability.
Item?
We talk about copies. Copies aren't that different from things that
originated them. But they are different, even if it is only by being in a
different place and time. If they weren't different, they wouldn't be
copies, they would still be originals. If they weren't different, then the
copycat and the originator would be the same person. It would be hard to
tell who was making copies on the Internet.
> 3. why do humans like this stuff so much?
Most don't.
Humans?
Most?
People in some cultures love to pretend that their things are new. People
in some cultures love to pretend that their things are new and unique or
original or natural or fundamentally changed.
> 4. is "copy culture" fundamentally the same as always (as
> it's been for centuries), or has technology fundamentally
> changed the kind of culture we produce?
Copy culture is faster than ever. It produces unique and original items
faster. The items are faster. They might be more or less original. They
might be more or less unique. They are faster. Technology has fundamentaly
copied the kind of culture we change. Art in the age of mechanical
reproduction - Walter Benjamin.
Fast?
Fundamental?
Culture?
Change?
Copy?
> 5. are there "bad" appropriations, and what are they?
Bad appropriations are appropriations you don't like. You might not want
them. You say "go away." You say "this is unoriginal and bad." You get
others to say the same. You fight in a court of law. You fight in the
streets. You march. You carry signs that say "Bad." You tell everyone the
names of the evildoers. You help them. You say "watch out!" You encourage
them. Way to go.
Appropriation creates ownership via theft.
Originality denies that it is appropriation and creates ownership by
pickpocketing.
Ownership causes both. Way to go.
When you do either activity it makes something new and unique for you to
own.
But which activity, and which culture, determines how you feel about your
ownership. How you feel about the other's ownership. How you feel about
stealing and getting ripped off.
You?
Like?
>
> i could go on and on.
Please do! If you like.
P.S.
What's the deal with this list? ;)
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