I think they've always gone on. I've gotten some irate letters from oldsters saying 'We did this in the 1930s. You didn't invent anything.' And I'm like, 'Gramps, you should have put a name on it and sold it, because that's all I did.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author claims originality through naming and selling ideas rather than invention.
- In plain terms
- Naming and selling an idea makes it yours.
- What can you take from it?
- Execution and branding define ownership.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is invention less valuable than commercialization?
- What truly makes an idea original?
Another view
This ignores the creative labor required to develop an idea into something sellable.
More from Chuck Palahniuk
I haven't had a TV in 10 years, and I really don't miss it. 'Cause it's always so much more fun to be with people than it ever was to be with a television.
Permalink to quote #2 It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one.
Permalink to quote #3 Why have I sold out? You think I'm supposed to grow old, beating some trite old protest drum that people don't hear anymore? Please; protest is now just a back…
Permalink to quote #4
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