"[Writing] is theft" Ctd with Maria Popova: 'All creative work is derivative'

As Maria Popova said in Brainpickings:

"Even though in his 1890 book George Washington’s Rules of Civility Traced to Their Sources and Restored Moncure Daniel Conway notes that Washington generously “borrowed” the bulk of his rules from a 1595 French Jesuit book — a testament to the fact that everything builds on what came before — they remain fascinating in their own right as an ideological predecessor to the foundation of America’s democratic and moral ideals."

I repeat what Maria Popova said:

"Everything builds on what came before."

Read more on that here. I also encourage you to read a post by Maria Popova entitled, 'All creative work is derivative.'

You can read an interview with Maria Popova in the Life Hacker, 'How I Work' series here. Maria started Brainpickings as an email newsletter back in 2005. You can see a quick timeline of her life here. You can read her interview with the New York Times here.