Putting on my visual artist and composer hats, I assert that all creativity is synthesis. When a listener finds one of my compositions surprising, it’s because they don’t know all the sources of the micro elements of the composition. But I often do. If I thought about it harder, I could say I usually do.
My first reaction was annoyance: "It's just stealing work from thousands of other artists!" But then I realized that I, as an artist, basically do the same thing. Why is it ok for me to do, but not a machine?
