The Law of Conservation of Creativity

Time can be spent in two ways- creating content, or absorbing it. Both are valuable uses of the limited time we all have. Creating content is challenging, exciting, and can be a beautiful contribution to the world. A new poem to be read by passionate literature fans. A funny stand-up bit, to be shared thousands of times across all of social media. A doodle turned into a full painting, to be copied and framed in the homes of hundreds of art lovers. Though it may take many attempts to create something of value, and the first failures being disheartening enough to turn off the desire to try again, creating is a beautiful thing. Creating content is the clear predecessor to absorbing it.

Whether or not you have any interest in sports, you probably watched the Super Bowl, because that was content that had to be absorbed to meet social expectations. Sitting in class, you have undoubtedly scrolled through a Buzzfeed article about cool things to do with a potato. You have probably been to a concert, or play, or spoken poetry performance, and enjoyed seeing the inspirationally original content that an individual (or group of individuals) worked hard to create.

Today, in a world of Instagram, free access to thousands of quality news sources and written works, the ability to find any song or video on YouTube, content is everywhere. It is all too easy- and fun and, often, socially encouraged- to spend a day watching Netflix or listening to your favorite artist’s new album, or any other pre-created content.

But not long ago, all of this content was unavailable. People had to create their own things to do, and their own ways to spend their time. Each individual was basically required to create content, if only a little. There was a lot of creativity in the world, and fairly evenly distributed. Of course, there were always standouts- playwrights or philosophers or court jesters who created content for audiences as their career. But access to this content for the common man was limited. Each individual was a source of their own creativity.

Today, creativity rests in the hands of the few, as the majority of us sit back and take it in. We don’t write, we read. We don’t play, we listen. We don’t tell jokes, we laugh.  We do less, and react more. 

The total creativity in the world (area under the curve) remains the same. In the past, all individuals contributed some creativity. The wealthy painted and wrote poems, while the poor brewed beers and played music. In the present, we leave the creation to the few outliers, as the majority fall in the middle, without any desire to create.

Humanity is always producing the same total amount of creativity, proportional to population expansion. But no one is required to make things anymore. The work of others can keep us busy for eternity. We never have to produce, imagine, or create. Life no longer demands it. It takes will and dedication to break the mold of content-absorption and become a content-creator.

Will you absorb, or create?