[jeorgun]

I think this relates very directly to one of PG's essays¹:

    At an art school where I once studied, the students wanted
    most of all to develop a personal style. But if you just try
    to make good things, you'll inevitably do it in a distinctive
    way, just as each person walks in a distinctive way.
    Michelangelo was not trying to paint like Michelangelo. He was
    just trying to paint well; he couldn't help painting like
    Michelangelo.

It's much easier to be distinctive than to be good, so if you're trying to optimize for the former you'll have a much harder time achieving the latter.

¹ http://paulgraham.com/taste.html