Thursday, November 5, 2015

Creation Requires Influence



Creativity - the ability to transcend tradition ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination

In a world of remixing, copying, and stealing, it is generally known by now that there are no new ideas. Even the definition of the word “creativity” highlights the fact that it stems from building off of ideas already set in place. All ideas and creations in the world have been influenced by an idea or creation that precedes it, basically making the new creation an interpretation of the old. 

In the “Everything is a Remix” video we watched in class, it mentioned that creation requires influence. A question that every inventor, entrepreneur, or the like should be asked is: What influenced your creation/ idea? 

Let’s take a look at the Apple iPhone, which was released in June 2007. Its “revolutionary design” is nothing but a copy of an early design drawn up by Sony designers for a similar device. A 2006 Businessweek article with Sony product designers was circulated internally at Apple headquarters, influencing the early design of the iPhone. 


Comparing the initial design of the Sony-style to the first-generation iPhone, the two devices appear to be similar, despite the minor differences. 

So while Steve Jobs has been credited with the “revolutionary” and “innovative” design of the early smart phone, the praise should be given to Sony and their designers for influencing Jobs and his team. 


Another device that has been influenced by the ideas of its predecessors is the portable-media player, also known as an mp3 player. The original portable-media player was the Sony Walkman, a portable cassette tape player, which debuted in 1979 (1980 in the U.S.). Later came the portable-CD player (also developed by Sony, named the "Discman") and afterwards the digital media player, like the iPod. The gradual innovation and expansion of the ideas put in place before shows how ideas are influenced by things that precede them.

 The innovation of the portable-media player is a good example of the “Basic Elements of Creativity”, which are copy, transform, and combine. The portable-CD player copied the idea of the Walkman (the ability to conveniently listen to music and other audio files), transformed things like the design and mechanics of the device (larger design to be able to fit a CD, a disk reader), and combined it to create the new product. 


Nothing in our world is truly original. All creations are influenced by the ideas before them and in turn influence new creations.  

2 comments:

  1. Remixing (or design borrowing in this case) is certainly interesting when it comes to these technological devices. It’s funny, and perhaps a little ironic, that we as consumers of these technological products don’t realize the actual depth of the “remixing” that occurs when it comes to devices that have been around for more than 5+ years. Because you chose these specific examples, I wanted to comment on how the invention, reinvention, and remixing of these tools/technologies can also affect our modes of delivery (as we discussed today in lecture). Although the Internet is something that – at least with the iPhone – could be accessed and then translated as a means of delivery, I also think that the progression and changes that have occurred to your examples over the years is a good representation of how remixing can aid delivery. I think that when it comes to technologies, endeavoring to figure out the best way to present something, or to use a device as a medium for content, is extremely important. So while it is rather funny that so much borrowing goes on between these ideas/technologies, I also feel that it serves to help the mode of delivery for future users. Great post!

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  2. Remixing (or design borrowing in this case) is certainly interesting when it comes to these technological devices. It’s funny, and perhaps a little ironic, that we as consumers of these technological products don’t realize the actual depth of the “remixing” that occurs when it comes to devices that have been around for more than 5+ years. Because you chose these specific examples, I wanted to comment on how the invention, reinvention, and remixing of these tools/technologies can also affect our modes of delivery (as we discussed today in lecture). Although the Internet is something that – at least with the iPhone – could be accessed and then translated as a means of delivery, I also think that the progression and changes that have occurred to your examples over the years is a good representation of how remixing can aid delivery. I think that when it comes to technologies, endeavoring to figure out the best way to present something, or to use a device as a medium for content, is extremely important. So while it is rather funny that so much borrowing goes on between these ideas/technologies, I also feel that it serves to help the mode of delivery for future users. Great post!

    ReplyDelete