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One thing I have learned in life is that there is no such thing as an original idea. Ideas have their time. If it is truly a good idea (and even if it is not),

One thing I have learned in life is that there is no such thing as an original idea. Ideas have their time. If it is truly a good idea (and even if it is not), someone has already thought of it. That doesn't mean we shouldn't credit people for the idea, but at the same time, just because you thought of it, doesn't mean that is where the final product came from.

screye 4y ago
I've seen this up close during my time in ML research. I'd often jokingly mention an idea, only for someone to get a state-of-the-art paper out of the exact same idea within a year of that. It annoyed me at first, but with time, I realized that this was a rather familiar occurrence. Many top labs are tight-lipped even when talking about peripheral topics, because so many of their peers are within months of reaching the same answer, and even the smallest hint might lead to a peer getting there first. My conversations with top researchers indicate that all research in ML is about 'getting there first' rather than producing something that requires a mythical epiphany. It does take away from the glamor of it a little bit. If Salieri had been months away from composing Mozart's best work himself, that would have taken away from the timelessness of his work.
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  My recollection is that at least two other people came up with the idea of evolution around the same time. Charles Darwin got credit for it for whatever reason, but it seems likely the world was at a point where the pieces were there and just needed to be put together and several people did put it together but only one got credit for it.
  - screye 4y ago
    The one that blow my mind the most was the simultaneous invention of calculus. Modern Calculus can be reasonably thought of as the most important mathematical leap forward of the last 1000 years. If there was ever an invention that can be considered a piece of unquestionable genius, then that's calculus. And somehow, it was simultaneously invented by 2 different people within a few years of each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz%E2%80%93Newton_calculus_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz%E2%80%93Newton_calculu...
morisy 4y ago
For a while, when I came up with a really clever, original one-liner, I'd search Twitter history and find that it had already been made dozens of times. Worse, we started a business and scoured around, looking to see if anyone had ever tried it. A little over a year in, we realize someone else had started it, two years before us, but with slightly different terminology. Fortunately, but we're both still around and kicking over a decade later, though with a good understanding now of why not many other folks had tried it.
- failrate 4y ago
  This happens to me every time I release a new game. Some combination of zeitgeist and Baader-Meinhoff means that I will see basically the same thing released at basically the same time, usually a better implementation.
- D-Coder 4y ago
  Yep. A friend was discussing how her cat loved to be with her 100% of the time, but when she took a shower, the cat was distressed. In a moment of cleverness, I suggested the obvious solution: a cat raincoat. Then I searched the web and found lots of cat raincoats.
jaredhallen 4y ago
Calculus, Newton, and Leibniz is another example.
waterhouse 4y ago
Feast your brain on this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_discoveries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_discoveries It is really amazing to see how many discoveries and inventions I've heard of were independently made by two or more people within a few years of each other.

screye 4y ago

I've seen this up close during my time in ML research. I'd often jokingly mention an idea, only for someone to get a state-of-the-art paper out of the exact same idea within a year of that. It annoyed me at first, but with time, I realized that this was a rather familiar occurrence. Many top labs are tight-lipped even when talking about peripheral topics, because so many of their peers are within months of reaching the same answer, and even the smallest hint might lead to a peer getting there first. My conversations with top researchers indicate that all research in ML is about 'getting there first' rather than producing something that requires a mythical epiphany. It does take away from the glamor of it a little bit. If Salieri had been months away from composing Mozart's best work himself, that would have taken away from the timelessness of his work.

DoreenMichele 4y ago
My recollection is that at least two other people came up with the idea of evolution around the same time. Charles Darwin got credit for it for whatever reason, but it seems likely the world was at a point where the pieces were there and just needed to be put together and several people did put it together but only one got credit for it.
- screye 4y ago
  The one that blow my mind the most was the simultaneous invention of calculus. Modern Calculus can be reasonably thought of as the most important mathematical leap forward of the last 1000 years. If there was ever an invention that can be considered a piece of unquestionable genius, then that's calculus. And somehow, it was simultaneously invented by 2 different people within a few years of each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz%E2%80%93Newton_calculus_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leibniz%E2%80%93Newton_calculu...

morisy 4y ago

For a while, when I came up with a really clever, original one-liner, I'd search Twitter history and find that it had already been made dozens of times. Worse, we started a business and scoured around, looking to see if anyone had ever tried it. A little over a year in, we realize someone else had started it, two years before us, but with slightly different terminology. Fortunately, but we're both still around and kicking over a decade later, though with a good understanding now of why not many other folks had tried it.

failrate 4y ago
This happens to me every time I release a new game. Some combination of zeitgeist and Baader-Meinhoff means that I will see basically the same thing released at basically the same time, usually a better implementation.
D-Coder 4y ago
Yep. A friend was discussing how her cat loved to be with her 100% of the time, but when she took a shower, the cat was distressed. In a moment of cleverness, I suggested the obvious solution: a cat raincoat. Then I searched the web and found lots of cat raincoats.

jaredhallen 4y ago

Calculus, Newton, and Leibniz is another example.

waterhouse 4y ago

Feast your brain on this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_discoveries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_discoveries It is really amazing to see how many discoveries and inventions I've heard of were independently made by two or more people within a few years of each other.