Adam Alter

One of the really good examples of this is Bob Dylan. When you ask a lot of really great talented musicians who is the most original voice or the most original songwriter of the 20th century, it's surprising that a lot of them say Bob Dylan is that person. Maybe it's not surprising, but what's surprising is how much they agree on that.

One of the really good examples of this is Bob Dylan. When you ask a lot of really great talented musicians who is the most original voice or the most original songwriter of the 20th century, it's surprising that a lot of them say Bob Dylan is that person. Maybe it's not surprising, but what's surprising is how much they agree on that.

But when you actually look at the origin of Dylan's songwriting and the basis for his early music, a lot of it ended up being small tweaks on existing ideas. You know, he'd met certain musicians, particularly folk musicians in the early part of his career in the 60s. And those folk musicians influenced him in ways that were profound.

But when you actually look at the origin of Dylan's songwriting and the basis for his early music, a lot of it ended up being small tweaks on existing ideas. You know, he'd met certain musicians, particularly folk musicians in the early part of his career in the 60s. And those folk musicians influenced him in ways that were profound.

But when you actually look at the origin of Dylan's songwriting and the basis for his early music, a lot of it ended up being small tweaks on existing ideas. You know, he'd met certain musicians, particularly folk musicians in the early part of his career in the 60s. And those folk musicians influenced him in ways that were profound.

And when he was later asked about the influence of those musicians on his work, he said, oh, absolutely. I tweaked what they had done. I recombined what they had done with some of what I'd heard in rock and roll. And I had created this kind of newish version that was really a recombination of existing ideas. And you find this in all sorts of different areas.

And when he was later asked about the influence of those musicians on his work, he said, oh, absolutely. I tweaked what they had done. I recombined what they had done with some of what I'd heard in rock and roll. And I had created this kind of newish version that was really a recombination of existing ideas. And you find this in all sorts of different areas.

And when he was later asked about the influence of those musicians on his work, he said, oh, absolutely. I tweaked what they had done. I recombined what they had done with some of what I'd heard in rock and roll. And I had created this kind of newish version that was really a recombination of existing ideas. And you find this in all sorts of different areas.

From the outside, these people might look like true originals. But in fact, when you look more closely, you find that there's a sort of recombination of these existing ideas to form a sort of novel version of whatever those existing ideas were.

From the outside, these people might look like true originals. But in fact, when you look more closely, you find that there's a sort of recombination of these existing ideas to form a sort of novel version of whatever those existing ideas were.

From the outside, these people might look like true originals. But in fact, when you look more closely, you find that there's a sort of recombination of these existing ideas to form a sort of novel version of whatever those existing ideas were.

No, I actually don't. I think most of the time what happens is it's not purposeful. And I think creativity for a lot of people is kind of mystical. We're not very purposeful about it. It's a difficult thing to be creative. And by definition, that's true because if it were easy, you'd be following the herd and what you were doing wouldn't be particularly novel or interesting.

No, I actually don't. I think most of the time what happens is it's not purposeful. And I think creativity for a lot of people is kind of mystical. We're not very purposeful about it. It's a difficult thing to be creative. And by definition, that's true because if it were easy, you'd be following the herd and what you were doing wouldn't be particularly novel or interesting.

No, I actually don't. I think most of the time what happens is it's not purposeful. And I think creativity for a lot of people is kind of mystical. We're not very purposeful about it. It's a difficult thing to be creative. And by definition, that's true because if it were easy, you'd be following the herd and what you were doing wouldn't be particularly novel or interesting.

But it turns out with creativity, as with many things, once you understand it, you realize there are some very deliberate algorithmic strategies that help you be more creative. And one of them is exactly this process of recombining. One of my favorite examples of this is a woman named Arlene Harris. who has made a business of combining existing ideas in new ways.

But it turns out with creativity, as with many things, once you understand it, you realize there are some very deliberate algorithmic strategies that help you be more creative. And one of them is exactly this process of recombining. One of my favorite examples of this is a woman named Arlene Harris. who has made a business of combining existing ideas in new ways.

But it turns out with creativity, as with many things, once you understand it, you realize there are some very deliberate algorithmic strategies that help you be more creative. And one of them is exactly this process of recombining. One of my favorite examples of this is a woman named Arlene Harris. who has made a business of combining existing ideas in new ways.

She basically took the cell phone industry in about 2007, 2008, which was essentially designed for young adults. If you think about the original iPhone, It was really, really hard for older adults to use. It was very different from what they'd been used to. They couldn't type very easily. A lot of them complained about what it was like to use the iPhone.

She basically took the cell phone industry in about 2007, 2008, which was essentially designed for young adults. If you think about the original iPhone, It was really, really hard for older adults to use. It was very different from what they'd been used to. They couldn't type very easily. A lot of them complained about what it was like to use the iPhone.

She basically took the cell phone industry in about 2007, 2008, which was essentially designed for young adults. If you think about the original iPhone, It was really, really hard for older adults to use. It was very different from what they'd been used to. They couldn't type very easily. A lot of them complained about what it was like to use the iPhone.