The true nature of creativity: pilfering and recombining the work of your forebears (who, in turn, pilfered and recombined)

[Ceran_Swicegood]

In medieval times, when originality wasn’t trusted, authors would make up sources that didn’t exist. Rather than say “I made this up, it is my story”, they’d say “I got this from an old manuscript from old so-and-so.”