Good artists copy, great artists steal. — Pablo Picasso
The first time I learned about this quote, I was quite confused. It is considered immoral and unlawful to steal material goods, how could Picasso say that it is great to steal in the creative disciplines?
The answer I found lies in the subtle implication in the act of copying versus stealing. One can usually produce a replica of an original without wasting any brain power whatsoever; whereas stealing is much harder: it requires careful planning and deft execution. Most important of all, however, one steals only what is valuable and leaves ...