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We're all standing on the shoulders of giants, dwarves, and everything in between. That's not really arguable. Even if you create something "entirely unique" (yeah right), that somehow doesn't draw on any work done before (ha!), you can only communicate it because people made language. You can only share it because people fed you, clothed you, educated you. Countless squintillions of interactions and evolutions, in nature, in humanity, in culture and science and art and language, in the very cosmos, went into putting you in the position you were when you created the "completely new" thing. However, one of the things that people do is go into bubbles - religious bubbles, ego bubbles, psychotic delusions, etc. It can be powerful to give yourself all the credit for your work. It can be motivating, comforting, and generally advantageous sometimes to think that God has your back, that your tribe is chosen above others. Think of all the performers with diva complexes - those complexes serve a role in helping them. It's absurd and kind of sad from the outside, but it works for those people to believe that they're the greatest. But the truth that they're all forgetting is that they had teachers, helpers, warriors, workers, people of all kinds supporting them to get to the position they're in. They all had ancestors who broke their backs to bring them into the world and protect them. They've all eaten thousands of pounds of food grown with exploited labour. They've all benefited from countless artists and creators enriching the local and global culture. So, I can see why someone might believe, or even choose to believe that they "made the entirety" of a thing... But it's not the truth - not even close. A wider and less egoistic perspective might not help them create or believe in themselves, but if we're talking about a broader truth than one person's viewpoint, it's utterly absurd, wholly delusional, to give yourself that much credit. I think it's a sign of sickness in our culture that any of this is news to people. |