Creative Writing Group Forum Imitation and Copying, highway..
Imitation and Copying, highway to Originality8 Years AgoTheodor Adorno reckoned that human is indissolubly
linked with imitation; a human being only becomes human at all by imitating
other human. Whereas in his treatise, Marcus T. Cicero, deemed that in
everything, truth surpasses the imitation and copy. Edgar Degas also advanced
the notion that it is all very well to copy what one sees but its far better to
draw what ones now sees in ones memory.
All these are sayings and well-thought-out conventional
laws on the trivial and often thorny subject of copy and imitation. Bad as it
may seem, imitation or copy is not bad in its entirety. This might have led the
famous abstract painter, Pablo Picaso, to suppose that “ ..good artist copy,
great artist steal” . Drawing from his avant-garde abstract paintings, it is
hard to nail direct copying as it were. It is evident that he was heavily
inspired by African forms but, by and large, he synthesized his subjects to
achieve unique pieces. He actively relooked his subjects and conveyed them in
new dimensions of reality. By doing so, he created the “original” through
copying. One can only make out from his practice that imitation is not bad if
it can be a leeway to broader perception of reality.
Product launches are opportunities for firms to have
a sneak-peak from their competitors. This is a strategy that corporations use
to gain an upper hand in the market. Whilst some use this as an occasion to
copy, others use it positively to identify niches for even greater innovative
products and services. This could not have been better set out than what Jack
Ma said that “you should learn from your competitor but never copy. Copy and
you die”
We learn by way of imitation but our identities remain
unchanged. In every experience we ought to follow practices worthy incorporating
to our identities. Confucius reckoned that “.. by three methods we learn
wisdom……imitation, which is easiest; and…..experience, which is the bitterest.”
There is disclaimer, though, on imitation in that one ought to be careful not
to copy mistakes.
Recently, we witnessed multi-billion law suits
arising from infringement of copyrights such as one between Apple and Samsung.
The underlying issue here being “copy”, Period! Funny as it may seem, the
rounded corner of their smart phones was the sticking point. When did such a
minute feature as rounded corner down spiral to such an expensive court case?
One can easily deduct the reason being the large amount of money involved in smart
phone industry that could prick executives to squander billions of dollars in a
wasteful case.
How then should we copy or imitate in our endeavor
to create stuffs? We should copy smart and with open eyes. Researching on the
issue at hand, synthesizing it with a keen obsession for identity.
Introspection into ones innate wishes and aspiration as Steve Job puts it that
“design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up
expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service”. Unpredictably, Imitation and Originality
appear to be interlinked in the human brain. In any case, effort is what that
makes the difference! |