Some philosophers believe in the "original thought theory," which posits that no one has ever had a thought that someone else hasn't had. Pablo Picasso promoted this with his maxim that "good artists copy but great artists steal." That is, everyone is influenced by what came before them. You could argue that nothing we create can ever truly be "new."
Not convinced? Just try reading some headlines from your favorite websites. (And yes, we do it too — guilty as charged).
Slate:
What we talk about when we talk about cancer
What we talk about when we talk about terrorism
What we talk about when we talk about the man bun
What we talk about when we talk about Aaron Schock
What we talk about when we talk about Kevin Love
What we talk about when we talk about talking about race
The Daily Beast:
This is how you beat Donald Trump
This is how Hillary loses the primary
This is how Eva Longoria is trying to win the midterms
This is how AK-47s get to Paris
This is how you make an all-deaf music video
The Washington Post:
Yes, George W. Bush kept us safe
Yes, the comparison between Jewish and Syrian refugees matters
Yes, Benedict Anderson was a political scientist
Yes, Chris Cooley would still like to come back to the Redskins
Yes, mass shootings tend to produce copycats
Yes, the pope has a police force
Yes, those Daily Show field pieces are real and no, the people featured don't regret it
Yes, Trump does mean the end of the GOP
Yes, Donald Trump could absolutely be the Republican nominee in 2016
Yes, Darth Vader ran for office in Ukraine
Yes, there was indeed an upside-down 3 on the FedEx Field turf
The Economist:
In praise of mediocre health care
In praise of human guinea pigs
In praise of celestial mechanics
In praise of the emerging-market regulatory model
The Atlantic:
Zen and the art of cubicle living
Zen and the art of college admissions
Zen and the art of picking blackberries
Zen and the art of woodworking
The Huffington Post:
You won't believe this Is a manufactured home
You won't believe these are oil paintings
You won't believe what this woman did to propose to her girlfriend
You won't believe what Rand Paul said about his environmental record
You won't believe how this Atlanta queen jokes about gun violence and AIDS
You won't believe who Bill O'Reilly is related to
You won't believe how this guy beat Dark Souls
You won't believe the damage this little chunk of ice caused
You won't believe what Toni Braxton's gynecologist told her to do
You won't believe what's under these ordinary folks' clothes
Pharaoh said no. You won't believe what God did next.
Business Insider:
Don't criticize what you can't understand
Don't believe the headlines about Japan's economy
Vox:
The great northern Virginia toll controversy, explained
Beyoncé's rise to fame, explained
Your high cable bill, explained
Star Wars lightsaber colors, explained
Candy corn: Halloween's most contentious sweet, explained
The philosophical problem of killing baby Hitler, explained
The sign bunny meme, explained
The New York Times:
What Shamu taught me about a happy marriage
What Eisenhower taught me about decision-making
What Steve Jobs taught me about being a son and a father
What yoga taught me about the balanced life
What Lou Reed taught me about love
What a cow taught me About running
New York:
A guide to the experimental treatments being used to fight Ebola
A guide to 2016 candidates trash-talking each other
A guide to Rand Paul's Us Weekly facts
A guide to the city's urban farmers
A guide to the universe of Japanese candy
A guide to the hedge-fund elite
A guide to jumping on the 2015 Rangers bandwagon
(Note that New York typically uses two headlines, one that shows up on Google and another that appears on the article page itself. The above are the headlines geared for Google results.)
Politico:
President Obama slams Fox News
Obama slams Trump on immigration
Obama slams Warren on trade comments
Obama slams Walker on right-to-work law
Obama slams Cantor for use of props
Obama slams Cheney on 60 Minutes
Obama slams Ryan budget on tour
Obama slams Romney on Jeep ad in Ohio
Obama slams Thomas, hugs McCain
Obama slams Republicans over 'not a scientist' comments
Obama slams GOP on Social Security
Obama slams Sony, takes aim at North Korea
Obama slams sequester politics
Obama slams New Yorker portrayal
Gawker:
Today in "new and awful things about being poor"
Today In Matt Drudge's racial phantasm
Today In profoundly racist Drudge Report headlines
Today in Matt Drudge photo selection follies
Today in Mitt Romney trying to relate to voters (and again)
Today in Obama's nation-fixing Cabinet news
Today in D.C.'s polyamorous gay murder
Today In Sundance hell (many installments)
Today in product review spoilers
The Week:
Confessions of a college fixer
Confessions of a college admissions officer
Confessions of a bandwagon sports fan
Confessions of a millennial who hasn’t invested a dime in stock
Confessions of an out-of-control penny-pincher
Confessions of a trust-fund baby
Confessions of an NSA apologist
Confessions of an Edward Snowden apologist
Confessions of a hotel insider
Confessions of a former TSA officer
Confessions of a reality TV producer
Confessions of 4 serial job-hoppers
Confessions of an asexual woman
