A WORD ON ORIGINALITY

FEW gifts are greater than originality. To conceive of something new is to add to human knowledge, and what could be more wondrous? Whatever the quality of that contribution, there is something marvellous about the discovery: that, out of nothing, now there is something, hence the word “creativity”. That characteristic alone necessitates further curiosity, for a new idea must be assessed, its strengths and weaknesses interrogated and, should it suggest some further consequence, an inquiring mind will seek to explore that possibility too.

This — the possibility inherent to discovery — is responsible for the excitement originality generates. That is enlivening and captivating for anyone interested in ideas. So originality is a catalyst, selfreplicating and thus a spark capable of igniting a powerful intellectual blaze. It has a penetrating effect on conventional wisdom, breaking it up and reconstituting it in some new fashion.

At other times, it can reveal an entirely different universe, wholly unrelated to accepted thought. This is originality at its most powerful, rare and exceptional; in turn, at its most majestic.

It is one thing to offer a new insight into an existing paradigm, quite another to provide an original frame of reference. The greatest thinkers have done this and their works stand out like beacons in the dark.

There is a platitude: genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. It misrepresents originality. Remove originality and all you are left with is hard work, and that is easily replicated. But remove hard work, and you are left with originality — even if only a drop in the ocean, the unique difference, capable of transforming dedication into invention, and so a different unit of measurement should apply. Originality is a rare talent, and a more precious commodity you will struggle to find. Gareth van Onselen