Been There, Done That

Ever get the feeling that all of the good ideas have already been taken? Like everything worth doing has already been done by someone else? That there's nothing truly "new" or "original" these days, it's just recycling of the old?

I mean, for example, think about the last few movies you saw, or look at the list of movies that's currently playing in the theaters. Almost everything out there is either a sequel, prequel, remake, or a movie version of a TV show, book, comic, or foreign film. It it's not Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, it's Batman Begins. The Longest Yard. Bewitched. Herbie Fully Loaded. Honeymooners. I could go on for hours with this list and you all could probably do the same.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm saying all of these movies suck. Some of them do, but I loved Star Wars and I fully plan on watching Batman when I get a chance. Herbie Fully Loaded looks pretty awesome too (just kidding).

And I know why the studios count on these movies so much, because they are almost guaranteed to be successful. If I was in their position that's probably what I'd do too.

I don't want to focus everything on movies though, that was just an example. You see much of the same in music, i.e. remakes of old songs, sampled beats. In TV, if it's not already replaced by a reality show, it's another spinoff of CSI or a copycat version of ER.

At work, most of the projects are variations of the same few ideas. They're good ideas, but from the time I started working, pretty much every major project I've been on is either an upgrade or reconfiguration of an existing program. Often times these include smaller components that need new designs, but overall, it's basically the same product.

Again, it's not like I'm saying all of these "remakes" aren't good. I just wonder whether we will ever see a re-emergence of new thoughts and ideas. Did our spirit of creativity in this country die?

Sometimes I think it has. For me, I grew up reading books about people like Thomas Edison (I know, NERD), and believing that anybody, including myself, could be an inventor and help the world. I remember being in our 3rd or 4th grade "gifted" program called EXTEND (Scott would probably remember this) when they would have us invent stuff and present it like a science project. I forget what I invented, but I do remember being really excited at the time for the opportunity.

Even throughout high school and much of college, I always thought that one day, I would be able to come up with some awesome invention, patent it, and make that my life's work and my contribution to society.

But at some point during the past few years, maybe starting with my last year at college, I guess I sort of stopped thinking that way. Not really sure what changed my mind, maybe it was just a matter of seeing the real world and understanding the odds against me.

A year or two ago I was talking to Ray about what he was doing at work, and it sounded like basically his job was to think of as many new ideas as he could and patent them for his company. I won't name his company here because of the remote possibility of it somehow getting him into trouble. But suffice it to say that he works for a very large corporation.

And it just got me thinking - Ray is a smart guy, one of the brightest people I know. His company must have a lot of guys like him, some maybe even smarter, who are doing the same thing he is doing. There must be other companies like his who have similar departments too. So say I want to become an inventor for a living. Look at who my competition is! Huge companies each stocked with teams of "Rays" working every day to patent stuff, who have possibly millions if not billions of dollars backing them.

Not saying it's impossible to come up with new innovations on your own in spite of the competition, but my point is that it seems like more and more the days of individual creativity are being phased out. Would guys like Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Eli Whitney, or Ben Franklin have flourished today like they did in their own time? Perhaps, but I'm not so sure. Would they have had the patience to spend years at a university to pursue advanced degrees before getting a chance to lead their own research? Or would they have gotten swallowed by the corporate ladder at some multinational conglomerate somewhere along the way?

Right now, when I think of someone with the spirit of invention, the first thing that pops to mind is that guy in Office Space. You know, the guy who gets laid off, tries to kill himself, gets hit by a truck, and then invents a "Jump to Conclusions Mat" with the settlement money? Kinda funny, but sad, that that's the only guy I can think of. It shows that there's not that many examples of modern day individuals who have been truly successful as inventors.

Anyways, what is my point in writing all this? Am I starving for more new original movies to come out? Not really, I haven't had much time to watch movies recently to begin with. Am I still wishing I could be a professional inventor? No, I don't think that's it either.

Actually, I think what started this observation was the process of thinking about what to write in this blog. Kind of ironic eh? But seriously, a lot of times when I post stuff on this page, I get the feeling that what I'm writing has already been written by many other people many other times on other blogs. That's a thought which is both humbling and even a little discouraging at times, because I would like my blog to stay fresh with new ideas, not rehashing old ones. I would rather write nothing, than to write something that I know is not original.

The last thing I'd want this page to become is like those magazines I always see on the rack that come out every month, but rarely have anything truly new to offer. Especially women's magazines like Cosmo, how is it possible to have "57 new ways to please your man" every month? Do they have researchers in a lab investigating new man-pleasing technologies that haven't been released yet? You'd think that by now they would have covered all there is to cover, and all they're doing is rewording their tips to make them sound different.

There's a webpage out there that calls itself "The Best Page In the Universe", if you've never heard of it, here is the link (fair warning - don't click if you are easily offended by foul language): http://maddox.xmission.com. I think this guy's stuff is absolutely hilarious (especially the older archives), and obviously I'm not the only one because his site is consistently one of the most visited pages on the Internet.

I mention that site because I was reading through some of his stuff the other day and realized that I have posted a lot of the same thoughts that he posted. Not the stuff like "How to kill yourself like a man" or "For every animal you don't eat, I'm going to eat three", but his rants on how he hates weather reports, for example. His stuff mostly predates mine though, so I guess that makes me the loser. That site really is hilarious though, don't know about it being the "Best Page" but the guy is pretty genius if you ask me.

Hopefully I didn't bore too many people with this entry. Just something I felt like observing.