Inconceivable!

John T. Unger responded to the post on creativity in the comments. He's so spot-on that his whole response is reproduced here. John writes:

"Inconceivable!

I think my take would be that there's no point in even doing something if you don't in some way improve on the existing concept or structure or practice… I mean, who wants a motorcycle that's only as good as new or maybe not even quite that good? *I* want a motorcycle that does something the others don't do, whether that's flying, making espresso or shooting jets of flame from it's headlight. My basic criteria for accepting a new design brief is that it should at least in part be "impossible" or inconceivable. Where's the fun in doing something you know will work? The learning curve is all about doing something that should never work, and doing it in an elegant way.

Conservation of mass? Pshaw. I make something from nothing all the time… In fact, the world is so full of nothing, I find that using it as my primary source material gives me a constant supply. Not nothing in the sense of a lack of atoms, but nothing in the sense of matter undesired by the masses. There's plenty of that stuff, and I can make it very desirable with a little application of creative reorganizing.

The first rule of creative living is that breaking the rules is the first step to fixing the problem. When you can break the higher order rules of physics, or at least bend them a bit or make them dance unexpectedly on pins, you're almost certainly on to something."

What does John create out of "nothing?" Things like the Great Bowl of Fire, and things like these.

Bonus question: What movie inspired the headline of this post, as well as the original one?

Comments

[Shannon Clark]

Of course the movie you are referring to is the only movie I have seen so many times as to be able to almost quote the entire film - word for word.

The ultimate classic fantasy movie...

"The Princess Bride"

Great film. When/if I get a TV again (and a dvd player) definitely one of the few I'll need to buy a copy of.

[Christopher Carfi]

DING! Shannon nails it. The Princess Bride does, indeed, have everything. Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles...

(edited to add: "Murdered by pirates is good!")

[john t unger]

Heh,

Well, you nailed my Violent Femmes post title a while back, so you know I had to return the favor!

Besides, I've been procrastinating writing some thoughts on art and the market lately, so I vented a bit in the comments here instead.