It is this tapping into the collective pool of ideas that enables people on other sides of the world to come up with the same idea, almost simultaneously. This is how fear spreads, or a sudden obsession for yellow, how the world comes around to certain ideas, that, in the way we have of deciding, have found their time.
When Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution, and published his first paper on it, a little known priest, Gregor Mendel, had already come to some of the same conclusions about natural selection by growing thousands of pea plants in his garden.
In the 70's, George Harrison admitted to "subconsciously plagiarising" the 60's girl group the Chiffons, after similarities between his hit My Sweet Lord, and their song, He's So Fine came to light. Harrison maintained that he hadn't plagiarised the song on purpose, but that the melody could have infiltrated his head whilst he was writing My Sweet Lord......
My point?
Well, I'm not sure, really. Except for the fact that I was found by another blogger, who I had no knowledge of previously, who started her blog in January this year, while I started mine in March.
Her blog name? cloth.paper.string.
My blog name? paper.string.cloth.
note please, that BOTH are spelt in lowercase letters with full stops between them.
The similarity ends with the names, we are, after all, completely different women, on different sides of the planet, but there you have it.
Collective Unconscious? Serendipity? Unconscious Plagiarism?
As the party with the latter starting date, and thus, all the onus, iut looks as though I am going to have to change my name.
The bugger of it is, that I originally wanted paper.SCISSORS.cloth, but I googled it and found out it was very close to the name of a quilting magazine. Seems this name wasn't to be either.
Anyway, dear readers, if you have any suggestions for the complete naming overhaul, please let me know.
And to Sarah, I am so sorry to have put you through the horror of thinking that someone out there was stealing your well thought out, snappy blog title for their own benefit. When you got in touch with me, my heart fell to the floor.
I believe in the Collective Unconscious, people, but I don't believe in stealing ideas.
Hope you're all having a gorgeous sunny day, any helpful commments at this point would be greatly appreciated.
xxx
15 comments:
I too am a believer of the Collective Unconscious. It makes the world seem smaller, more wonderous and utterly magical. I truly appreciate your grace through this, Leah. Be well, Sarah
As a regular reader of Sarah's blog, I have just read the post about the coincidence with your blog names.
I think that you are being very gracious in changing your name and I believe that you did not intentionally use a name similar to Sarah's.
Marie
You are a good girl for changing your blog name.
Plagiarism is rife in Blogland but you have been honest on discovering your faux pas. I had a terrible time trying to find a name for my blog, and Florence Hope took my friend and I ages because everything we wanted had already been registered. What we did was go onto a domain website and type in everything we wanted.
Anyway now you can start over – a re-invention if you like.
What is paper, string, cloth in French?
I think it’s gracious of you, but do you really think you need to change your blog-name? As there was no intentionally copying.. The wheel cannot be invented twice! About another name: designingwithgrace.blogspot.com ?
In French it would be papierfiltissue !
I almost forgot - it's impossible to change your Etsy name once you have opened your account.
Anyway, your doppelganger is on typepad - isn't the world big enough for the two of you?
well, i'm no help in naming blogs.
when i went to the store to buy "no appropriate behavior" i think i pulled it out of the crapper.
Surely there is no reason to change ? Your styles are very different even if the names are similar, leave serendipity be.
You ARE a good girl.
Personally, I can't see that it's absolutely necessary.
But neither is it the only name in the world.
How boutBitch Barmaid from the Graveyard.
Different, Noice.
I majored in Prose & Poetry Writing as an undergrad, & the collective unconscious bit everyone constantly & consistently. One year everyone would write about flying apes, the next year it was all about naked gardening (I'm just making up examples). I've thought again, and again, through writing and crafting, that my ideas are/were original. Anymore? Not so much. And you know what? I'm ok with that. I like to think it just makes us closer in this big, disconnected world. Blog on, lady! =^.^=
I don't think you need to change your name at all.
At all.
I don't think you need to change your name at all either. After all it wasn't done deliberately and although some might say the difference in names is only slight it's just about the same difference that the other blog name is from the quilting magazine
(blog name = cloth.paper.string
magazine = cloth.paper.scissors). Stay as you are I say!
wow, you really going to change your name? doesn't seem like a big deal to me, though I can understand how you might want an identity completely separate from someone else. hopefully she wasn't upset with you or accusatory. That would just be ridiculous especially since its just a coincidence and you are a half a world away for goodness sakes.
-kimberlee
Oh Leah, this is really awful for you. Maybe you could take some inspiration from your utterly magnificent Cathedral Window quilt that has been so admired.
Kirsty
You certainly don't come across as someone who's ever trying to copy anyone in any way, if that's what you're worried about. Good luck with your change though.
Post a Comment