It's Ok to Copy Others - Steal Like an Artist

1,193 views • Apr 14, 2023

Concepts in this episode

Steal Like an Artist principle

Originality is often the residue of disciplined imitation: copy several strong models, learn their hidden standards, then recombine those influences until your own style emerges.
Culture as Accumulated Imitation mental-model

Culture is accumulated imitation: practices become traditions when they work well enough for one generation to invite the next to copy them. This transmits usable behavior before each person can independently discover or explain it.
Chesterton's Fence mental-model

Chesterton's Fence treats an inherited rule, ritual, or structure as possible evidence of a hidden constraint. Before removing it, identify the effect it produces—not merely the explanation people currently give for it.
Lindy effect mental-model

For durable, non-perishable ideas and practices, survival is evidence: the longer they have endured attacks, imitation, and changing contexts, the more remaining life you should provisionally expect.
Pace Layers mental-model

Systems do not change at one speed. Adaptation improves when you separate fast layers such as fashion from slower layers such as culture, tradition, and human nature, then set expectations accordingly.
Cultural Learning mechanism

Humans gain a distinctive advantage by acquiring working behavior from one another. Imitation lets discoveries travel beyond the individual who made them and accumulate across generations.
Innovation as Recombination mechanism

Innovation usually begins with borrowed foundations. The decisive originality often lies in how existing ideas are selected, combined, productized, and given a distinct personality.

Description

Is copying bad? Or is it a good way to learn? This FutureIQ episode begins with a question: "Is copying a bad thing?" and introduces the idea that while copying may seem like cheating or unoriginal, it can actually lead to innovation and improvement. The episode then explores various examples from literature, art, and real life to demonstrate this point. Moving on to technology, the episode shows how Apple's computer was not innovative, but rather it was an improvement on existing ideas that ultimately revolutionized the industry. Similarly, Microsoft's produces improved on the previous versions of other companies to become the most widely used office suite. The video also presents real-life examples, such as how artists and designers often use existing works as inspiration for their own creations. The episode then argues that by copying and improving upon what came before, we can create more innovative and interesting things. The episode concludes with the idea that copying and improving is not only a good thing, but also an essential part of progress and creativity. It encourages viewers to be open to new ideas, to build upon the work of others, and to use these as a stepping stone for their own creations. Hope you enjoyed FutureIQ by Navin Kabra and Shrikant Joshi. Do hit us up on Twitter: @ngkabra http://twitter.com/ngkabra @shrikant https://twitter.com/shrikant Listen it on the podcast provider of your choice: https://tapthe.link/FutureIQRSS Learn more interesting concepts: Why Superstition is Smarter Than Science: https://youtu.be/LYdXruXmlng Sensitivity vs selectivity: https://youtu.be/joF5dHhF3s0 Thinking like a VC: https://youtu.be/OAAYnb9LUsU Links mentioned in the video: The Secret of Our Success: https://tapthe.link/SuccessSecret Steal Like an Artist: https://tapthe.link/StealArtistSteal Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: https://tapthe.link/7Habits Copycats: https://tapthe.link/CopyCats The mother of all demos: https://youtu.be/yJDv-zdhzMY Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Research 03:38 Creativity 04:48 Culture 09:33 Chesterton's fence 08:49 Unlearning the dogma change maybe 09:30 Career & businesses 12:00 The Lindy effect 13:07 Copying tips 15:20 Virat's dance 18:08 The inevitability of imitation 19:25 When to copy? 20:55 When not to copy? 20:40 References #futureIQ #imitation

Transcript

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