Monday, November 20, 2006

Is this an original thought or did I steal it?

During a recent trip to see my doctor, I mused about pain. It occurred to me that if asked about my level of pain, I might well respond, "If pain were good, I'd have an embarrassment of riches". OK, it's not hilarious but then that's not my point.
I believe I came up with that thought on my own. But I could have read it in a book or heard it on TV. So how does one know? This enigma presents itself quite often when I'm writing and raises several questions.
If an amusing or witty thought occurs to me, and I am unsure about its originality, am I obliged to enclose it in quotes, italicize it, or in some other way signify this uncertainty? Exactly what constitutes an original or unique thought?
In a recent post about Parkinson's often devastating impact on motion and movement, I referred to my fine motor skills as my "not-so-fine-motor "skills. I think this qualifies as both amusing and original, although most of the phrase is in common usage.
Other thoughts about Parkinson's and its effects: I used to be "all thumbs"; those were the good old days. Memory was always my strong suit; now it's a wild card.
In any event, those are thoughts which I believed to be original, at the time I wrote them (but I wouldn't have bet my life on it). If you have an opinion on this topic, or an example, please leave a comment.

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