Everything is a Remix

Everything is a Remix

The video by Kirby Ferguson really stuck with me because I really agreed on his main point – which is that “everything is a remix.”

In patent discussions, it is easy to accuse people of copying bits and pieces of your idea, and in the TED talk, this was extended to music – where Bob Dylan was accused of copying music in different ways. Bob supposedly copied the melodies, song structure, and lyrics of other artists. However, when I was listening to the songs, they all still sounded unique and I think what made Bob Dylan’s music great was that he was able to draw on different influences to produce his own authentic music. He took bits and pieces from songs and artists/role models he liked and pieced together his own.

I thought it was also interesting how the TED talk cited Steve jobs on his quote that great inventors steal. This reminds me of how ultimately all our inventions build on prior inventions and that we owe it to those who were there before us because they paved the path for us to be able to make breakthroughs using the material that they provided. I thought that it was funny too how Steve Jobs hated it when other people stole from him and it shows his “double standard.”