Creativity: Copy, Transform, Combine

My code is a remix, your code is a remix. Almost everything is a remix. When I code for school assignments I copy simple examples from the textbook, I transform online examples to match my needs, and I combine together small bits of code from these various sources and my past projects to create a bigger project. Even when I code without any references, I’m thinking about code I’ve seen or written in the past. Now I think this is still creativity. My end result is unique and useful (at least for a grade and learning). However, if you break it down, looking at 3–5 lines of code at a time, each individual building block looks extremely familiar and less creative. In general we all work with the same building blocks and 99% of our creative works are built from the shared mental models we share.