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Musing about copying other's ideas.

Since rcw isn't a picture show and as most leading lights seem to move on from this ng, we have few if any problems re copying and plagiary. In fact, I suspect most of us would be very flattered. Nevertheless it appears to be a problem for some others so it does interest us, notwithstanding our loud protests that it doesn't. It's the bit dog that whelps and none here seem to have been bitten yet. :)

In an poor attempt to help diffuse a gathering storm of personalities off net (more like a tempest in an embellished bowl) I suggested these aphorisms about copying. Of course they are plagiarized from somewhere, most every original thought is and I haven't seen any posts from an Einstein nor a DaVinci. So without apology I'll dump them here, unasked for. Add or subtract your own plagiaries and don't feel guilty about it. :) ******************************************

  1. If the borrowed copy is not as good as the original, that's plagiary. What is it when the copy is an improvement?

  1. A plagiarist is really just a second hand dealer.

  2. In art there is no sixth commandment.

  1. If you must kidnap ideas, at least don't murder them.

5, Woodturning is full of coincidences. Some turners believe they are plagiaries.

  1. We feel uncomfortable about copied ideas until we learn how to use them. Then they become our own.

  2. It's almost as hard to avoid copying a woodturner's work as it is to turn it.

  1. A few turners who have had original ideas feel a greater right to use others' original ideas.

  2. Disfiguring a copy to hide the original idea doesn't make it your own.

  1. Plagiarists at least, are preservationists.

  2. A borrowed idea is like borrowed money, it just shows that the borrower is bankrupt.

  1. Plagiarists may have poor ethics, but they usually have good taste.

  2. Stealing ideas from a contemporary is plagiarism. Stealing the ideas of past generations or the ancients is erudition.

  1. A borrowed coat never keeps us warm. Arguing about plagiary often does.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch
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Hi Arch Tempest in a thee pot ???

If it was not for copying or using others ideas, what would we use on our feet and wear on our bodies ?

What to sit in or on, what to sleep in or on ?

What to make our meals in and eat our food out or drink our liquids out of ?

Would we have forks and knives and spoons, ladles ??

Would we have wheels or gears or pumps or fire, houses, windows and doors etc. ?

Shapes ? look around, pots and pans, cups and saucers, bottles and vases, etc., etc.

Copies of one form and from another, put together now makes an original ???

Or is this an attempt to stop others from making copies of copies that the copier of other copies has copied him/herself ???

I know where my ideas come from, out of my head, it is full with forms and shapes, and combinations of those, all these soaked up while living, with my eyes open and closed.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Reply to
l.vanderloo

So Kevin, Leo, Joe, Fred, Deb, Steven, I, and others know where we all stand. ;)

Thou shalt not take thy neighbor's wife in vain?

Reply to
Owen Lowe

Hi Leo, If you could see some of my clothes you'd hope they were my original never to be copied. :)

Hi Owen, Who are those guys left standing after "most" of the lights have been turned off? I'm sure artists respect their neighbor's wives. Guess I can't count or maybe I meant the sixth suggestion. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

Catholic or Protestant? Catholic - adultery, Protestant, murder.

Primacy goes to the Torah, where it's murder.

Reply to
George

I have to say that I respect my neighbor's wife - a lot!! :-)

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Reply to
Joe Fleming

Serious topic that we should not take lightly.

There are a few things that we can do to ensure our ideas are original.

  1. Avoid publications depicting forms or shapes that others have developed. (not just woodturning, many types of artists develop shapes and styles)
  2. Do not join any organizations that will expose you to the work of others. Local woodturning clubs will certainly poison any creativity you may have. The inspiration and energy you will feel at club meetings does not allow your own independent development.
  3. Do not read "how to" books, watch videos or attend any woodturning classes. Learn it on your own to avoid affecting your own creativity.
  4. Avoid the internet, it is full of inspirational images. Inspiration is the seed of plagiarism.

We are human and as such our ideas spring from what we see, feel, hear, touch? and I forgot what the other ones were. The only way to avoid inspiration is to eliminate sensory input. This includes natural shapes found in nature, someone else has already viewed them and allowed their own ideas to blossom. A simple hike can result in creating an already developed form.

We have a grave responsibility to ensure the work of others is protected. Take this responsibility seriously and work to avoid any inspiration that has its roots in what you sense around you.

Kirk

Reply to
Kirk

Thanks Kirk. Great post and good advice. It certainly is a serious topic and worthy of all turners to be received. I hadn't wanted to put a damper on the joy of the season, but since you have brought us back to stark reality, I'll mention some scary unpublished research being done at a secret government laboratory.

The source of the organism is not known, but there is some evidence that infected illegal space aliens may have crossed the troposphere--ionosphere border by tunneling under the stratosphere. In keeping with government policy, there is only scanty information about this lethal organism, the Plagiaricoccus Horribilis. Studies of chucked organisms, which may not be true in the wild state, show that morphology varies; usually rounded with a small mouth and thin walls that are often off axis, eccentric, pierced, burned or dyed. The mutations sport ornaments, contrasting collars and empty insides. In preliminary studies on laboratory artists, no antibotic has been statistically effective, but there is anecdotal evidence that craftsmen appear to have a natural immunity to plagiaricoccosis.

Asymptomatic carriers have been reported and can be recognized by their pretense not to care if copied. Mild infections often cause the victim to protest not to care for themselves, but to have great concern for others who are copied. Massive plagiaricoccal infections produce violent seizures with incontinence, shrill oaths and dire threats. Legal intervention may be necessary, but mortality rate is high. Should you note any of these symptoms in a woodturner, please urge them to seek rcw help immediately...then quickly wash your hands of the problem.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

"Kirk" wrote: (clip) Take this responsibility seriously and work to avoid any inspiration that has its roots in what you sense around you. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Oh, I don't know. I have risen to my position of greatness by standing on the shoulders of others. By refusing to admit this, I can appear even taller (artistically) than I otherwise would.

So: I am self-taught and uninspired.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

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