# The creations we make Creations aren't merely beautiful things, and include anything where we add [quality](values-quality.md) to something: - Adding value to an eyewitness account with a recorded video. - Adding value to information in a spreadsheet by compiling a report. - Adding value to a [friendship](people-friends-why.md) by giving a gift. - Adding value to [understanding](understanding.md) by using [science](science.md) or [philosophy](philosophy.md) - Adding value to a [human connection](people-friends-why.md) by making an [agreement](people-contracts.md) or settling a [conflict](people-conflicts-why.md). We always add what we *[perceive](people-image-why.md)* as value. According to others' [perceptions](people-image-why.md), the value-adding may or may not be [legitimate](reality.md), or it may be *more* than others can interpret. APPLICATION: Even anal-retentive [bureaucrats](bureaucracy.md) and obsessive hobbyists are adding what they imagine is value. The only way to [influence](influence.md) them is to treat their contributions as important (even when they aren't). Most creations are expressed through a medium or media, but it's not always physical: - Adding worth to an idea by simplifying it for yourself. - Studying creates and intensifies [new neural connections](mind-memory.md). - [Philosophers](philosophy.md) work almost exclusively with ideas. - Every [creator](mind-creativity.md) across any medium, ranging from music to visual art to [computer programs](computers-software.md), must build at least a prototype of something in their mind *long* before it becomes [external reality](reality.md). All things we call [work](success-4_routine.md) are creating in some way, and it's necessary for living a [good](people-goodlife.md) and [meaningful](meaning.md) life. Without creating anything, we'll become frustrated and unhappy with the world around us. We only create because we [believe](understanding-certainty.md) the creation will fulfill a future [purpose](purpose.md), and we can usually [imagine](mind-imagination.md) its [results](results.md). ## Novelty *Nothing* is entirely new. By disassembling everything, every [idea](values.md) and creation has existed before. Typically, people who wrote historical records forgot to [communicate](language.md) a [trend](people-trends.md), which then started again from a different basis. The only thing different is the combinations of specific values, and even then the [abstraction](values.md) is the same while the implementation is different. Underneath the new image, the mechanisms behind most things are mostly the same. There's more in common between one automobile to another, or one person to another, or one book to another than different. However, we presume those similarities and focus so heavily on the differences that most [major conflicts](people-conflicts-why.md) revolve around that differentiating 0.00005%. Because a creator's [quality](values-quality.md) often comes through constraints that later creations don't have (e.g., [technological limitations](technology.md), it's already been proven to work), original works are often inherently worse than their predecessors in form, but inherently more well-received [by the public](people-trends.md). ## Purpose When people create, they are either [imagining](mind-imagination.md) it first or acting from [habit](habits.md), and they're *always* drawing from the [world around them](reality.md). Sadly, while some creators are taking [social risks](entrepreneur-why.md) to explore truths, most of them are imitating other creators for the purpose of self-interested [reputation](people-image-why.md) or [wealth](power-types.md). Creations that aren't designed for a specific need are typically either tools or media, and are always designed for present-tense or future-tense use. The longer that we [imagine](mind-imagination.md) a creation in our minds, the higher and more grandiose we imagine its created value will be when it becomes [reality](reality.md). Broadly speaking, across [societies](groups-large.md), people use a few major [angles](people-image-why.md) that refine [chaos](unknown.md) into [meaning](meaning.md). The creators' efforts funnel into an approximate [trend](people-trends.md) derived from how much [understanding](understanding.md) they have of the subject: 1. [Art](art.md) - grabbing from the [unknown](unknown.md) and making clearly understood [stories](stories-why.md) that capture the [human condition](humanity.md). 2. [Science](science.md) - understanding [facts](reality.md) extracted from those stories. 3. [Engineering/Inventing](engineering.md) - using scientific facts to create [technological](technology.md) answers to [problems](purpose.md). 4. Pioneering - taking [risks](entrepreneur-why.md) to build order from [chaos](unknown.md) using [known-working](understanding-certainty.md) solutions. 5. Improving - becoming more effective at accomplishing known [purposes](purpose.md), which includes [fixing things that break](https://adequate.life/fix/). 6. Maintaining - letting [habits](habits.md) (or [automation](technology.md)) create things repetitively. ### Tools The value of a tool lies both in how many perceived [purposes](purpose.md) it could theoretically solve and in how strong those purposes achieve [expected results](results.md). General tools (like a crescent wrench) are valuable in many applications, while specialized tools (like an oil filter wrench) are more often than not completely useless for most things, and *very* valuable when they're needed. We try to find the best tools for the task. A hammer can pound things better, but a screwdriver is better at piercing. There's no such thing as a "best" thing because "best" is tied to the [purpose](purpose.md) we're trying to use it for. Every tool's [purpose](purpose.md) represents something like a vitamin, pill, or candy: - Vitamins are solutions to mandatory, [routine](habits.md) needs and wants, such as [housekeeping](home-housekeeping.md), [budgeting](money-3_budget.md), [culinary arts](cooking.md), and [groceries](cooking-shelflife.md). - Pills are solutions to mandatory, unusual needs and wants that almost always require a clear [decision](mind-decisions.md), such as repair work or surgery. - Candy are solutions to non-mandatory, [fun](purpose.md) things we don't need, such as video games or recreational reading. As we gain [understanding](understanding.md) in our preferred [specializations](jobs-specialization.md), we tend to accumulate things that are more specific and less general. A professional mechanic, for example, will use their wrench set (and oil filter wrench) *far* more than their crescent wrench. Creations can often be tools designed to make *other* tools, usually based on a philosophical framework. [Computer technology](technology.md), for example, is a [logic-based](logic.md) tool designed to magnify someone else's [purposes](purpose.md). Practical information is an [understanding-based](understanding.md) tool. When we have other people do things for us (i.e., all forms of [management](mgmt-1_why.md)), that person can easily be thought of as a "tool" towards the purposes we have directed them toward. ### Media Most other creations are a medium of communication. It may have a long-term purpose (like a written work or an accounting report) or short-term (like a text message or [speaking with someone](people-conversation.md)). There are many varieties: - Spoken and nonverbal [language](language.md) - [Humor](humor.md) - [Written](language-writing.md) works like [stories](stories-why.md) - Visual works like paintings, sculptures, and film - Performances like plays, music dancing, and orchestras - Practical designs like a cell phone case or [automobile](autos.md) - Large-scale endeavors like architectural projects or a [social movement](people-trends.md) - Social space designs like architecture or interior design. - Answers to complex [problems](purpose.md). A creation's [quality](values-quality.md) in expressing [the human experience](humanity.md) is also known as "[art](art.md)". In that sense, *all* things made by people in any capacity are somehow forms of art. Their [story](stories-why.md) may drill down into small text messages or encapsulate a person's entire life, and they are subject to the rules of how [quality](values-quality.md) works (the most prominent being that most of the instances of that thing aren't particularly good). Every creator is trying to [convince](influence.md) a series of [ideas](values.md) with their creation. They may give specific context or add details to communicate their point. APPLICATION: Since a creator built from their [instincts](mind-feelings.md), we can frequently infer the spirit and soul of something if we trust our instincts (which are similar enough to others' to [match](humanity-universals.md)). Even automated [technology](technology.md) has a creator's "fingerprint", though it'll be on the backend and deep inside it instead of what the technology itself creates. Media has a specific [purpose](purpose.md), not only for creators, but also for consumers. Consumers are usually trying to find [connection](people-friends-why.md) with others' [stories](stories-why.md) to [understand](understanding.md) how those people [reasoned](logic.md) and whether it gave them [the good life](people-goodlife.md). At the end of the story, we [decide](mind-decisions.md) how to add the experience to our [identity](people-identity.md). APPLICATION: The trouble with modern art is that it often claims that the interpretation of [quality](values-quality.md) lies in the observer and not the piece itself. If that's the case, there's no [reason](purpose.md) to go to an art museum when someone can build a sandcastle with their kids or watch dumb videos. If you're consuming something, the creator of that thing is [influencing](influence.md) you. Even dry textbooks or entertaining little things are designed to [change you](people-changes.md). Otherwise, you'd forget them and not care, and they wouldn't have any [influence](power-types.md) to distribute it. APPLICATION: Beyond appreciating creations, we can find a tremendous amount of [purpose](purpose.md) in [understanding](understanding.md) *why* those people created something. In the case of fiction, which is essentially [imagination](mind-imagination.md) by adding/removing existing rules from [reality](reality.md), consumers have an unspoken contract with the creators: they'll accept that the creator is breaking the rules if they can [amuse them](mind-feelings-surprise.md) (e.g., time travel, a person existing in history who actually didn't). Failure to amuse often irritates the consumer because it wasn't a reciprocal [agreement](people-contracts.md). ### Future use For nearly everything else that isn't a tool or communication, it's a stockpile or a decoration, which are both future-tense. It's either a useful tool/communication at some indeterminate point in the future or communicating an [image](people-image-why.md) the owner wants to express. APPLICATION: If someone imagines something as "the best", consider what they're using it for. The best of anything might be the cheapest or worst-quality if it's disposable or intended for [humor](humor.md)! ### Hacks One of the most profound creations is a "hack". By using something beyond its originally designated or [culturally acceptable](people-culture.md) [purpose](purpose.md), someone can use a familiar object outside its expected area: - [Altering computer code](hacking.md) to make software run differently than it was originally designed. - Using a screwdriver to hold open a door. - Using common office supplies to secure an object. - Finding the easiest way [to learn something](understanding.md). - Using others' interpreted [statuses](people-image-why.md) to climb to the top of a [group](groups-member.md). The natural result of most significant hacks is that they're a tremendous [social risk](entrepreneur-why.md). Compared to [what they can gain from it](power.md), most hackers either don't [know](understanding.md) or don't [care](purpose.md). ## Design All creations are inspired remixes of other things, and [high-quality](values-quality.md) creations copy and remix the best attributes of what they reference. Therefore, *all* creativity is the combination of two or more things, with at least one of them being what they're focusing on and the rest being pulled from unconscious [symbolic](symbols.md) association. APPLICATION: Each person creates out of their own unique soul, so imitating another person will never quite work correctly. It's more productive to work with your preferred style while [imitating](mind-creativity.md) the parts of that person's [actions that work](results.md). APPLICATION: Even fools will sometimes absorb something wise, which is why wisdom exists even in the most childish, petty, and inane creations. [Specific rules constitute good design](engineering-design.md), which are practically non-negotiable because they tie closely to the [universal qualities of humanity](humanity-universals.md). APPLICATION: Exploring truths is such a high risk that artists can't afford to be fragile. They must be durable enough to brave [the unknown](unknown.md) and the very high chance of failure. When we [imagine](mind-imagination.md) what we [want](purpose.md) to build, we summon [beauty](values-quality.md) as we [understand](understanding.md) it. However, we tend to forget our sources and smash multiple elements together as we imagine and manipulate them. In the process, the creation's "mold" is an [image](people-image-why.md) of our [soul](humanity.md). The ability for someone to build a seemingly new thing is a product of their [soul's](humanity.md) ability to connect unrelated elements. But, since it's borrowing from nature, none of it is technically "[new](people-image-why.md)". It's more that nobody noticed where they borrowed it from, often because the creator skillfully hid their sources. Usually, a created thing will be the foundation for other things by future creators. In retrospect, that creation will become "quaint" (e.g., a tired trope). However, the higher-quality work by later creators *needed* the lesser thing as the foundation for their existence. APPLICATION: The traditions and tropes revolving around a craft are often necessary, and problems arise when removing them simply because we don't understand why they do it (i.e., "[Chesterton's Fence](lawsaxioms.md)"). We create at a speed proportional to how much we [believe](understanding-certainty.md) the creation will create [desirable results](results.md). On larger projects, this means we work faster near the beginning (since we don't [understand](understanding.md) how much work the project will require) and near the end (since we can see the entire project coming together). APPLICATION: It's critical, when we're ever creating things of value, to consume the right things. We tend not to discriminate between quality when recalling, so consuming bad-quality things will yield inferior work than if we'd consumed [high-quality](values-quality.md) things. ## Limits [Brilliance](mind-imagination.md) typically comes through limits the creator must confront. First, all creative works have inherent limits: - The creator's capacity to create, which is limited by their [human](humanity.md) constraints, [understanding](understanding.md), and [personality](people-personality.md) - The audience's attention span for consumption. - The possible things the creator can express or how long it would take for them to communicate it. - The other media that may have already done something before, or the fact that *no* other media has! All media is a commentary of other media. We often imagine the "classics" to be original, but we usually don't see the unoriginal elements that existed in the context where they *weren't* original. For example, historical documents and a historian's textbook of historical documents are equally [anecdotal](stories-why.md), but from different eras. Each media also has its own special limits: - Written and spoken words are limited by [language](language.md) constraints, along with (until recently) the budget for paper and [marketing](marketing.md) considerations. - Images are limited by the colors our brains can process, as well as a lack of context beyond the frame. - Music is limited by the human ear's ability to distinguish sound, as well as certain [cultural expectations](people-culture.md). - Collaborative works, like movies and video games, possess all the strengths and weaknesses of multiple media simultaneously. The fact that nothing is "new" is also a type of constraint: 1. We can only create from the basis of what we [perceive](understanding.md), so all creations fit into a finite range. 2. Further, creations must conform to how our [human universals](humanity-universals.md) define them. 3. We face a limit to how many high-quality, memorable things we can make, especially after a [trend](people-trends.md) has matured. 4. The constraints become even harsher if we bring [intellectual property rights](legal-ip.md) into it. Most creators are [determined](purpose.md) to [accomplish](results.md) through those limits: - Some of the most brilliant books and movies were made on a *very* limited budget or time schedule. - The Sistine Chapel required a *ton* of elaborate artwork, but on a ceiling. - Uber converted anyone with a car into a taxi driver. - Netflix was tape rentals, but digitally streaming. The limitations often define the work itself. [Beautiful](values-quality.md) things arise from our ability to overcome the [inner conflicts](people-conflicts-inner.md) of our creation not quite looking like what we [envision](mind-imagination.md) it to be. Naturally, those limits go away with [technological developments](technology.md): - Capturing visual sensations through photos and videos. - Capturing audio as digital [symbols](symbols.md) for disassembly and reconstruction. - Sending [language](language.md) across long distances. APPLICATION: Brilliance operates against limits, so followup creations *can't* capture the original sensation of the original. Movie, book, and game sequels all try to evoke the [feeling](mind-feelings.md) of the original, but always lack the intensity of their predecessor because they weren't created with the [inner conflicts](people-conflicts-inner.md) or context that surrounded it. Usually, there's a [creative](mind-creativity.md) person in the right place at the right time (like Shakespeare, Bach, or Charlie Chaplin) who can take advantage of the new technology to make a [permanent reputation](legacy.md) for themselves. If creators are confronting [cultural tradition](people-culture.md), they may start a [far-reaching trend](people-trends.md). APPLICATION: Don't disrespect early [trendsetters](people-trends.md). They didn't have the pre-existing [understanding](understanding.md) of the finished creation that you, the current observer, possess. Creations always take more [work](results.md) and [risk](entrepreneur-why.md) than they [appear](people-image-why.md) to. ## The creation's image The people who consume a designed thing *always* come into the experience with [preconceived notions](mind-bias.md) of what to [expect](mind-imagination.md). The [brilliance](mind-creativity.md) of the creator comes heavily in how much they know this and adapt to it. APPLICATION: If we take the time to create things ourselves (instead of merely consuming), we find more [meaning](meaning.md) in absolutely everything we touch, *if* we can [succeed](results.md) at it. It often comes with added [skills](habits.md) and [understanding](understanding.md) as well. The elegance and quality of a creative work come in how well the creator can hide the garbage-looking parts of the thing while maintaining the complexity of the thing itself. Hiding weld points, plastic seams, excess inventory in a store, or [technologies](technology.md) available but rarely used in an operating system all increase the value of those things by maintaining a high-quality [image](people-image-why.md). For the sake of gaining [influence](influence.md) or [power](power.md), creators *frequently* try to [distort](people-image-distortion.md) how [high-quality](values-quality.md) their creation appears, often by imitating or [marketing](marketing.md) tricks. APPLICATION: We could probably measure the quality of a creation by how many awful imitators try to shortcut [the process](mind-creativity-how.md) with bad copies! APPLICATION: Nothing is really new, so people don't tend to spend much money for values contained in media, and creators can't legally [patent most creative works](legal-ip.md). Instead, a creator must [sell their creation](entrepreneur-why.md) by either generating enough [popular demand](money-economics.md) to make plenty of extra money or by setting constraints on the physical media that contains the ideas. The creation, after it's been created, tends to create a fan base, which is a [group](groups-member.md) that reflects the [values](values.md) of the created work, complete with [traditions](people-culture.md), [symbols](symbols.md), and [statuses](people-image-why.md). Occasionally, the fans can run with that idea *much* farther than the creator of the idea (often verging into a type of [religion](religion.md)), especially after the creator has [died](legacy.md) and can't communicate their [original vision](understanding-certainty.md) anymore. The fan base of a media can occasionally have enough [powerful](power.md) people in positions of authority who favor it. When *that* happens, the media itself becomes a pillar of society: - Purchasing media for playback at [will](purpose.md). - Texts and dialogues that influence or become [law](people-rules.md). - [Religious](religion.md) texts that were potentially inspired by a deity. - Nostalgic association with [familiar](habits.md) things from the past. ## Recollection After enough time, we've [matured](maturity.md) since we last consumed a creation. We tend to [feel](mind-feelings.md) "nostalgia" from the past as being inherently simpler for several reasons: 1. We don't remember many details of the past's [reality](reality.md), but know more now. 2. Our [understanding](understanding.md) has grown to include many more nuances of reality. 3. [Technology](technology.md) has likely improved, which created more [specializations](jobs-spcialization.md). A creator will often find more [meaning](meaning.md) in their creation than anyone else around them, many times to the point of [over-valuing it](mind-bias.md). It doesn't mean others *won't* find [value](purpose.md) in it, but they'll never be as closely [associated](people-identity.md) with it as the person who [sacrificed](people-love.md) for it, including [groups](groups-large.md) who [carry on](legacy.md) the creation (e.g., sequels, spinoff works). APPLICATION: We can frequently form a [bias](people-image-why.md) toward creators and give grace for bad creations. The best way to fight this is to remove our association with that creator or their other creations while judging a work.