The Quote: “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have an apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

So simple and yet so freaking awesome. Any material possession that we can acquire in this world, and don’t get me wrong, there are things that I want, depreciates instantly upon purchase. Except for real estate, but that’s only because this country is getting truly out of control with inflation. But clothing, media, electronics, and all of those other household-type things become worth less the moment they pass through our hands. And we will likely get bored with them too, and then they are worth nothing to us either.

This quote encompasses a lot of what creativity is about for me. You make something from nothingness and it instantaneously has infinite worth. The more that is created, the more worth the world has overall. When people share ideas and creations, everyone gets richer.

But day-to-day life is mostly about acquiring, not creating. And most people are more concerned with investing than inventing. Some may grow in wealth, but they remain part of a human race that is continually growing poorer in substance. It requires too much effort to fashion precious metal, so we mass-produce fool’s gold and we all tarnish.