Passage V

Innovation and Prior Discoveries

The philosopher, John Stuart Mill wrote that "all good things which exist are the fruits of originality." However, Mill probably also understood that the fact is that no human invention is absolutely original. Every innovation—whether scientific or artistic—is influenced by prior discoveries.

Albert Einstein is often considered the most original scientist of the modern age. Therefore, he acknowledged his reliance on the work of others, such as mathematician Emmy Noether—who herself relied on prior discoveries. The mathematical theorem that now bears her last name(65) helped lie the foundation for quantum physics and allowed Einstein to formulate his theory of general relativity.

In literature, author Gertrude Stein epitomized originality. Her writing initially shocked readers because it departed from conventional grammar, storytelling, and style. Stein separated words from their fixed mcanings. She used words not as representations of reality but as pure forms, as if they were musical notes. Yet, as innovative as she was, borrowed from the world of visual art, particularly from the Cubist painters. Stein remarked, that she was doing in writing what Pablo Picasso was doing in painting.

It's often difficult to trace an innovation as a single origin. Modern peanut butter, with its smooth, creamy texture and long shelf life, emerged in 1922 when Joseph L. Rosefield began selling his peanut butters in California. However, George A. Bayle, Jr., sold a peanut paste as early as 1890, and others are known to have used ground or crushed peanuts centuries earlier.

Although Mill praised originality, his own work drew on that, of fellow utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Mill and Bentham both advocated striving for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Mill, however, will argue that people should seek the highest quality—not only quantity—of pleasure. Mill, then, made an important contribution to philosophy—regardless of how original his ideas were.