Thermodynamite and the Human Circuitry of Inspiration

Guest post from Seth Morgan, via South America:


"There are infinite means and methods, but with the best in every field energy is the constant."           - Henry Rollins

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but only transformed from one state to another.  While this idea is typically applied to things like friction, heat transfer, and other scientific stuff I won't claim to be knowledgeable of, I started thinking about it with regards to creativity.  Since energy and matter can't be created or destroyed, maybe ideas work the same way.  There must be a finite amount of energy in the world and we can only take in so much before we send it back out into the world.  Sometimes it goes out unchanged from its previous state.  Other times it is transformed into a state not yet seen before.  Maybe thats what it means to be creative.  People of ingenuity aren't those that create new things, but rather those that take what is already there and present it in an entirely new way.

I used to think of human creation as an upside down pyramid.  There was a small base of information from which all ideas had come from, with people using the ideas before them to create new ones, expanding each level upwards and outwards.  I don't really view it like that anymore.  Instead, it seems more like a circuit.  There is a predetermined amount of energy cycling through humanity and we merely take this energy and transform it into something new.  We are but transformers on the great circuit of human ingenuity with the input being "inspiration" and the output being "art/philosophy/literature/etc..."  The poet takes in experience and transforms it into lyrics.  The musician takes in all he's listened to in the past and transforms it into his own sound.  All using ideas people have seen before and understand,  but presenting them in a new way

In keeping with the piece, I dont think my ideas are exactly new and I'm geussing some philosopher has said this much more eloquently than I have.  However, by actively putting something back into the world, I stand a better chance of influencing something in some way, as opposed to if I merely left them in my head.  I think what I really want to say is this:  Be greedy about energy.  Watch movies.  Listen to music. Read books.  Take in as much as you can but don't waste it.  One way or another that force is going back out into the world.  Why not send it back out different from the way it came in?  Give, do, move, transform.  Be active with your place in the circuit.

JAMES BLAKE - The Wilhelm Scream by Mat Gallet James Blake- The Wilhelm Scream

My Own Sinking Ship by Bill Silva Entertainment The Good Old War- My Own Sinking Ship

The Ephemeral Bluebell (V(eye)BES Remix) by V(eye)BES Bibio-The Ephemeral Bluebell; couldn't find the original so here's the next best thing