creation is rooted in consumption

or: why I am no longer obsessed with the idea of an “original thought”

the terror and magic of a shared thought

Like anyone who has been in academia will tell you, you cannot write a research paper, a thesis, any academic work, without linking it back to the existing literature - to existing ideas about the field, the topic, and the nuances it entails.

When I was researching for an assignment and first encountered an article that argued exactly my point, I panicked. I thought “I can’t possibly write an article on this topic too now, it is useless,” and if we want to go to the extreme, then “my idea is useless,” or, god forbid, “I am useless” (I didn’t actually go that far, but you get the gist).

There is this feeling of being undermined, of being “cheated out” of whatever you want to say. And it is definitely not limited to academia – I can not possibly count the amount of times I have seen a substack essay on a topic I wanted to write about, something I thought about too.

But like you learn, quite quickly actually, in academia – a shared thought is good. In academic context, it means your argument is well-founded, enough to have been thought of, proved, and supported before. In life, it means that you are not alone, in your experiences, in your thoughts, in your very understanding of the world around you. And isn’t that incredibly comforting?

“The Painter and Pianist” by Lionello Balestrieri, 1910

inspiration comes from somewhere

This does not apply just to us “regular” people. Let’s look at the literary canon, for example.

Dante could not have written The Divine Comedy without reading Virgil first. I mean, not to spoil it for anyone, but Virgil is literally in the story. This goes for any major artist, as inspiration has to come from somewhere.

You watch a movie, and you have that uh moment. And then you open your laptop and you write an essay. You go to the museum carrying your sketchbook, and you fill it with drawings.

No one, no matter how genius or revolutionary in their field, is actually reinventing the wheel.

They had to have the telegraph in order to come up with the radio. They had to uncover a certain chemical component in order to perfect a new medicine. Everything is rooted in something and there is something so beautiful about that. Inspiration connects us to each other, making sure no one exists completely on their own.

Detail from “Dante and Virgil in Hell” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1850

balancing creation and consumption

I know there is a prevalent fear of the surplus of content that exists in our age. The internet is just overflowing with content. New Youtube videos, essays, reels, and pictures are uploaded online every second. And that feels so overwhelming, so intimidating, so discouraging. How even to begin?

The key is to remember to find the balance between the two. There are now circling the web think-pieces, video essays, generally many forms of media discussing exactly this – how to create more than you consume.

I think it might be a bit unrealistic to be able to do that consistently, and it is definitely impossible to achieve at all times. We are bombarded with more and more media than we know what to do with at every single moment. But there is incredible importance in trying. One of the most approachable ways to do so is engagement: reading a book and jotting down ideas or thoughts in the margins, listening to a lecture or a podcast and taking notes of things that strike you. Making sure things don’t pass you by, and that you are an active participant in your consumption. Using it to create, not just absorb.

But it is also important to remember not to be too harsh, too strict on yourself. Sometimes it is perfectly fine to mindlessly scroll, to binge-watch a feel-good tv show. You’re allowed to have fun, and if it makes you feel any better – remember that you can never know where inspiration will hit.

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