Most creativity depends on building on top of what’s already there.

Novelty exploits and aggregates preexisting stems to manufacture new and different, which is all people pay attention to.

However, what’s new isn’t always copy-pasta, nor is it always welcome. Most inventions and reinventions are dull and undeluded, shocking just at their orientation.

No to new

Newness intercepts everyday exposure by stressing out the senses. For instance, the red stop sign is ubiquitous, obeyed, yet trite and overlooked.

Convert that sign into a magenta-based pentagon, and drivers face an awkward, uncomfortable practice. Paying attention to the road becomes a nuisance again.

We like banal conditions because they rule out the fuss. We dislike unfamiliar territory because of the time it takes to adapt. Refamiliarization triggers an accelerated grimace.

The brain, initially in denial, processes routines slowly before absorbing them. At first, we deny, and then we surrender. Just look at the prevalence of masks during Covid. Initially rejected, the spread begged the normality of N95s to enforce obedience.

Norms are the arbiters of enforcement. Rules are rules, hence the difficulty of going blind to the status quo. As authorities relax and the masks drop, bare face reigns supreme again.

We are conscious automata, often forced to revisit severe control issues that screw up our mental hardware. The least groundbreaking disruption is welcome only to test our patience and wake everyone up again.

Behavior operates at the amygdala level. Without conscious interpretation, we either fight or run away.

Instead, what we seek is more constructive: long-term serotonin levels that strengthen emotional agility. Once we develop kinship between our senses and surroundings, we can level set and carry on when things go against us.

There will always be those resistors who share a desperate need to assert their own solipsism. It’s easy and tempting to fall for impulse and avoid cooperation in the daily saga of Prisoner’s Dilemma. But just as the clock synchronizes everyone’s day, patience, nuance, and collaboration are unifying traits with many-to-many broadcasting in play.

It may be trite to say, but it pays to be nice. While strict mandates are enough to convince people to do good — lest they go to jail — most people want to do what’s best for society. However, it is illuminating to note that the individual can still cultivate a unique identity as part of the greater collective.

Being different is applauded, as the mechanics of risk-taking and breaking things is a hallmark of innovation. One can still play by the rules in the most rebellious phase of their life. The hard part is being misunderstood for a catalog of years.

Some people prefer to go it alone, not for conceit or snobbery, but for the sake of standing for something rather than nothing. What’s good for one often benefits the whole, as the audience catches up to the characteristics of the most alive forms.