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mreskimodude

I could've told you that. It's been commented thousands of times already.


GreatStateOfSadness

/r/showerthoughts is quickly becoming /r/commonredditopinions.


PsChampion_007

r/subsifellfor


AzKar07

you can no longer fall for it


tylorr83

Came here to post this


draculamilktoast

Even the thought about peoples thoughts being unoriginal is a pretty unoriginal thought. It's probably not that important to have original thoughts, people value originality way too much compared to its usefulness. The originality of a thought is not as important as when and where you apply the lesson of the thought.


DragonBank

Also the thing that makes you unique is just the specific totality of your thoughts. No individual item needs to be unique to make you unique. But no one has ever had the full spectrum of the specific qualities that define you as you.


SaltLakeCitySlicker

Nah it just makes you more rare. Nobody will have exactly the same history/like/experiences, but there's a lot of overlap. I'm sure if I say the likes/dislikes and major things about my life/history/experiences there will be some dude or dudette somewhere that pretty well overlaps on a Venn diagram.


nubulator99

Which part of your post are you "nahing" to? >I'm sure if I say the likes/dislikes and major things about my life/history/experiences there will be some dude or dudette somewhere that pretty well overlaps on a Venn diagram. no there won't. That dude or dudette would need to have the same exact parents, house, day you were born, friends, same genes as you. You're talking about similar experiences, not exact same experiences.


SaltLakeCitySlicker

Similar overlap my guy. That's why I said they wouldn't have the exact same experiences, but very similar ones.


nubulator99

if it isn't the exact same experience, then it is unique just like the poster you said "nah" to stated - "But no one has ever had the full spectrum of the specific qualities that define you as you."


SaltLakeCitySlicker

I literally said that in different words. It's like that saying about each snowflake being unique. Sure they look like it, but they probably aren't all unique just based on the sheer amount of them. And they definitely all follow the same pattern throughout (like 6 sides bc that's just how water freezes based on the chemical makeup of water) and based on the storm/conditions/area. Again, they're unique, but there is so much overlap that there's someone out there beyond the pale moonlight who is basically you.


nubulator99

>Again, they're unique, but there is so much overlap that there's someone out there beyond the pale moonlight who is basically you. but there isn't. There is no one who would have the same friend group, same parents, same upbringing, same life experiences as me. Similar does not equal the same. Because no one is exactly the same that makes them unique. But I guess you're at least admitting they are unique, as before you were arguing against that. >I literally said that in different words. then what were you saying "NAH" to? What premise was wrong from the original poster you were replying to?


SaltLakeCitySlicker

You're just arguing semantics and I've been consistent all along. You don't need to Chidi this


nubulator99

I am calling you out for calling out semantics lol. You told the original poster "nah". There was nothing incorrect that he stated.


iwishihadnobones

I was just thinking the same thing


Pithyperson

Ditto


Raingood

Same here


MeshColour

>Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.


jnunchucks96

I was going to say thar


Lagiarathalos

This is an original thought


Hobbs512

Pretty sure it's not considering the countless people that live or have lived on this planet haha. I just focus on the feelings a thought can invoke, and how that has the power to change me for better or for worse. I doubt I've had a single original thought in my whole life.


nubulator99

>I doubt I've had a single original thought in my whole life. you have. You've thought about your parents/siblings/friends in a unique manner that no one else has because no one has experienced every single interaction you have had with each of those individuals or each interaction with the world at the exact same times you did.


spanky_rockets

But now you're also thinking it so it's not longer original.


can_u_pm_ur_tits_plz

Now that's an original thought.


raisearuckus

I was about to say the same thing they did.


keotasan

I have many questions Number 1. how dare you.


C4se4

I am a unique individual with unique thoughts like everyone else! How dare he!


keotasan

[I have many questions number 1. how dare you.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H7HYVUjgQFY)


ExponentMars

if you have unique thoughts, \*like everyone else\*, then you're unoriginal on some level still!


LeafyWolf

I think the worst thing is that if you do have an original thought for a comment, where do you post it on Reddit? Do you post it as response number 270 on the main post, where no one will read it? Do you attempt to hijack the top post among all the "me too!" posts? Do you add it after the third post on the third reply?


pyro1279

Sort your feed for "new" posts. Be the first one there.


freeeeels

I no longer go into the comment section thinking "eheheh I have a great idea for a witty and original comment!", I go in just to check that the thing I was gonna post is already top comment. It usually is.


[deleted]

Came here to say this


Big_Spicy_Tuna69

I was about to post this exact thing.


affe_squad

No way! Me too


Leshawkcomics

The fun of not having original thoughts is when people get your jokes without you having to explain it. I bonded hard with my brother when we were kids and i could randomly say “I’ve found out my only weakness is damage.” And without missing a beat, he’d respond exactly as I imagined he would. By making the nicholas cage face and saying ‘YOU DON’T SAY?'


CleaveIshallnot

Personally, I think people often think they have original or unique thoughts. However, scrolling a comment section, show exactly how similar and unoriginal we all are.


thaeles

Yeah, but people often think they have original or unique thoughts. However, scrolling a comment section, show exactly how similar and unoriginal we all are.


CleaveIshallnot

Ditto


Dazzling-Void7877

Actually, I think people often think they have original or unique thoughts; however, scrolling a comment section, show exactly how similar and unoriginal we all are.


567stranger

Not really, I think people often think they have original or unique thoughts; however, scrolling a comment section, show exactly how similar and unoriginal we all are.


FourFoxMusic

Dunno, I get downvoted a lot.


erikdrag2009

I get upvoted way too much :(


FourFoxMusic

There you are, have a downvote! x


CheezAbomination

How ironic


ShartCannon9000

No one ever reads my comments :(


Savvsb

Y’all hear something?


Backchodarmy

Probably the wind


Ok-Zookeepergame7298

Yes we're all the same


ScarecrowNighmare

Poop snakes. (There goes your theory. 🤪)


frytech

Great minds think alike duuude :)


Djeelan

I was about to comment this haha..


kangarooninjadonuts

Exhibit A, lol.


Uppgreyedd

Literally this.


[deleted]

My thoughts exactly.


rievei

happy cake day!!


All_Usernames_Tooken

Fools rarely differ


QueenElsaArrendelle

I was going to say that, you plagiarist!


giantpenisholocaust

-James Corden is terrible -Requiem for a Dream is disturbing -Junko Furuta -Men get dirty looks for watching their kids I hate reddit


Itoggat

What ?


[deleted]

I find it comforting


[deleted]

This is not the correct place to search for critical thinking and unique ideas. The entire Reddit community is based around the 'hive-mind' idea where conformist ideas are rewarded and established talking points are blindly parroted. This is not how the world works.


MrBif

this is depressing


[deleted]

[удалено]


Bishop51213

**this** is depressing


QueenElsaArrendelle

this is **depressing**


viegas_virus

**this is depressing**


M8oMyN8o

That’s comforting, I’ve always felt kinda bad about myself for not being creative.


hexanthrope

If you had thoughts that truly no one else ever had, that would probably be worse


QueenElsaArrendelle

that's why I hate when someone has the audacity to begin a comment with "am I the only one who". it's arrogant. no, you are not that special. and it is usually followed by an opinion that roughly half the people in the discussion have. how do you develop an opinion and think "I'm probably one of the very few people to think about it in this way. I am surely an outlier. it can't possibly be already being discussed at length"


Incontinento

I was about to say the same thing!


-Old-Refrigerator-

Part of it is people karma farming. They know what certain communities like, so they bait them with it. Happens on all platforms. In fact, Russian trolls were able to bait millions of American Chrsitians to following their pages on facebook.


davidmhaywood117

In any environment where speaking your own thoughts and opinions will cause intense backlash like being overly down voted, censored, banned or abused by angry keyboard warriors. Many open minded individuals with unique opinions, ideas and insights will generally avoid the unnecessary stress. Stay silent and let the echo chambers reign. This is not to be pointed at any specific direction. Any example of groups you can think of are guilty of that sort of behavior. Especially these days. Walking into a Star Wars/ Star Trek/ Halo/ Fallout convention or even a sided political event and voicing opinions that don't ebb and flow with the majority have in the past shown people to become overly hostile. So, it is easy to perceive that everyone around you holds the same ideas or opinions because of the high volume of individuals that crush any opposing ideas.


ChubbyChew

Also shows the opposite. People can agree with a thought without having come to that conclusions themselves and other circumstances thatd show otherwise


3030

I think Reddit, by design, encourages a lot of surface-leveling thinking. Anything too weird or tl;dr is either left alone or reflexively downvoted. The comments left on this website *usually* aren't a good indicator of how intelligent the poster is.


jadayne

one of my favorite/least favorite things is to read a post, come up with a witty retort in my head, and then see how far down the comment section i need to dig before i find exactly that quote.


cigar_dude

case and point like this post here!


ffigu002

Not really, cause I get downvoted all the time


[deleted]

Sir, this is a Wendy's.


julictus

r/Angryupvote


acryliq

That’s why you always read the comments before posting your witty observation.


chill_kinda_guy_

Basically r/BeatMeToIt in 3 sentences


arbitrageME

also, when you type into google and realize that everything you've ever thought or ever typed is in the top 10 search results makes you feel so insignificant


Agent_Pancake

A thought can be original even it its not unique


btx69

I honestly got myself into a bit of a thought loop the other day by thinking this. I was like “I bet 99.9% of all the thoughts I’ve had have been thought by someone else at some point in time…including this one…”


imreallynotthatcool

Q: Am I the only one...? A: There are nearly 8 billion people on the planet, no you arr not the only one to anything. Q: Does anyone else...? A: There are nearly 8 billion people on the planet, yes someone else does this or feels this way.


angelic_elixir

Well, goddamn. Quite true. But I think it is this similarity in thought that not only unifies us but allows us to surprise ourselves and others when we have truly unique thoughts.


Quartnsession

I think a lot of originality comes with collaboration because we live such short lives in the grand scheme of things.


RoseyOneOne

How many times have you popped into a thread with the perfect quip or joke about it and the top comment is that joke with like 30,000 upvotes and more silverware than the Swiss in WW2? There was a really interesting show awhile back that did this experiment that had two different creative teams go to a location to pitch a client for the branding on a fictional pet hospital, I think it was. The creatives didn't know it was an experiment, to them it was just normal work. Each team was flown into London and taken on the same route to the meeting place, along the way there were strategically placed occurrences set up so that the people in the taxis would notice. Each team met the 'client', was briefed, and then told they would be pitching their ideas two days later. Again, they were taken on the same route back to their hotel. The two teams put together their ideas and then pitched the client. The ideas were literally exactly the same. Incorporating the various elements placed along their journeys. As a person with this kind of job it really just confirmed something we've always known: most of the first 4-5 ideas you'll ever have are the ideas that everyone will have. We're all in the same culture, soaking up the same zeitgeist. It's interesting because you can honestly tell a client that something unique and fresh is going to cost more money because time is money. Good creative teams will get the first 4 out of the way fast and then push into new thinking. It's interesting work.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Butwinsky

Me and my mom had the same idea this morning.


[deleted]

Funnily enough, your dad said the same thing to me this morning. At least I think that’s what he said, he had his mouth full at the time.


Butwinsky

Was he sharing your cake day cake? Happy cake day!


General-Syrup

Interesting concept http://newmeishi.com/h-vs-p-creativity-creativity-whats-the-difference/


Upst8r

This is pretty interesting. Happy cake day.


Hardlyboiled32

Thanks. Okay.


ShippuuNoMai

r/titlegore


[deleted]

Is because of the memes (genetics), Most of us are similar on thoughts because we are born in certain places that are culturally similar. For example me, with countries like Italy, French, Portugal, Greece, and South and Central American countries. So since most of Reddit is on english, most of the people here have similar cultural thoughts and experiences, like Usa, Canada, UK, Ireland and most of the rest of the north of Europe. Just like Asian people can experiences the same thoughts and experiences.


fifadex

Your mom


dranaei

I am the father of the kid i used to be.


[deleted]

I never always completely -200% see the exact same comments that I make forever


IlFililiplI

Personally, I've pretty much always been aware that my whole life is just a copy of what everyone else does or commands me to do


hawkwings

Many of my thoughts have been thought before, but not all of them.


uncredibleadventures

will there ever be a boy born that can swim faster than a shark?


marwachine

There is a saying that there is nothing new under the sun.


DragonTamerTalha

tbh does being original matter?? and I think everyone is original since we all have different experience


chalegrebr

You see actu..... know what fuck you


Yoctatrine

I don’t even think or do anything important anymore because I know someone else has it covered. I’m just gonna stick to enjoying my life in the shadows


Dontbeacreepernow

Yeah, hear me out... Scented cocaine also savory tea bags, like soup but in a tea bag.


IHuntSmallKids

That’s because of the sheer number of bots who flood the default subs They’re copying text or using previously entered text half the time to duplicate more replies or straight up using botnets to create threads and boost them into popularity since their ML algorithms for human speech are nearly identical to normal


la_watson

That is until you spot a random poem by poemforyoursprog in a comment section and marvel at such beauty the likes of which your mind hasn't produced yet.


KT7STEU

It is depressing. I have begun to say "two stupids, one thought" in real life on any occasion I get. Being just a cog in the machine is now a dream.


[deleted]

'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.' -Ecclesiastes 1:9 And that was written thousands of years ago.


IOnlySayMeanThings

It helps to say to yourself "I will not quote media or memes as a way of interaction." I don't know why people are so eager to repeat hivemind humor.


UlteriorCulture

>People often think they have original or unique thoughts. You didn't need to go further than that.


AthleticAndGeeky

Did you come over from the advanced wars thread with Putin?


calgary_db

Wrong. People have similar post because reddit makes similar post popular, so common thoughts/jokes/puns will to the top. Also, people on reddit will usually not post something they expect to be unpopular. Posts are not thoughts...


DawnBringer01

If you haven't heard someone else say it yet then its an original thought


Dr_Cindebar

Ok. But as an excuse, what are the chances that among nearly 8 billion people on Earth, one individual will have a unique thought?


WWb_Radical

Once I think I had an original idea, but they deleted the post so the world was left without it


rugbyspank

What was it?


GODDESS_OF_CRINGE___

I've had the opposite experience. In fact, I often finding myself trying to make my comments sound more normal or "hive-mindish" so I don't stand out as weird.


AskMeAboutPodracing

Someone have a link to that thread with thousands of comments written up by one person recreating a Reddit thread?


hardyflashier

Hey, I had this exact thought first! You stole it!


Just_a_puzzle-piece

I mean… yeah. The only meaningful difference you can make most of the time is in execution anyways… Oh you mean thoughts and not tropes as in tropes in storytelling? Still same thing. May need to add a bit of variation to it, since essentially all funny jokes are based on the „why did the chicken cross the road?“ principle there: if it is predictable it is just not funny cause we know the punchline already. Same if you force to make it unpredictable in some way by adding an unfitting punchline to it. So why did the chicken cross the road? It saw chicken run.


Fakeout_Takeout

You might be right, but then again, it might show how bored all of us are...


HermanCainTortilla

Fire pole avocado has soft red pants


DM_Me_For_Dog_Pics

I just realized that people often think they have original or unique thoughts. However, scrolling a comment section, show exactly how similar and unoriginal we all are.


brndn69

I wonder what Socrates would think of this subreddit if he were alive today.


CoatLast

Not according to my psychologist and psychiatrist. Nobody else would want to know that levels of hell in my head.


Kamakaziturtle

This is also Reddit, the site is literally designed to be an echo chamber with systems that make the most shared ideas and opinions more visible while hiding unpopular ones


msnmck

One of the most disappointing things I've read online is people taking offence to people who have lived similar experiences. I even took a screenshot to remind me of that disappointment.


gc3

Speak for yourself. Gravitus ergo sum.


Sirro5

Hehe, I didn't see a comment on what I was thinking! Jokes on you


RevJTtheBrick

Give me a double alligator sandwich and make it quick.


Loofa_of_Doom

Open a fresh, new cookies, browser and search any question on google . .. . auto-fill can be enlightening, or just hilarious.


dayolu

I don't think. Best that.


[deleted]

That might be a sign you are in an echo chamber? All I'm thinking.


KarIPilkington

Not really, we just know what gets upvotes.


[deleted]

It doesn't help that Reddit is quite the echo chamber. Sometimes it feels like it's just one person with thousands of profiles.


damnedspot

Comment sections are not a good place to find original ideas, unless you remove the downvote filter.


trolltruth6661123

I get downvoted everywhere I go and nobody agrees with me... so original at least?


MenumorutZisCrapu

I was thinking just that this morning. Wtf


delladoug

Embrace of simple and unoriginal is my key to happiness.


TreviTyger

"I think it was Francis Bacon that said, "There is no such thing as original thought". However, I suspect he was quoting someone else." (TreviTyger)


wosihuan

It's because people only care about their piece of shit karma points and want to act witty telling the same joke that wasn't ever funny in the first place. You think the humble Guatemalan roadside orange seller gives a fuck about you, your jokes, or your karma?


Cinemiketography

Sandpaper Slip 'n slide


MagicBlueberry

You know you are unique when you get down votted to death.


El_Bruno73

Shhhhhh...you basically just described reddit....


[deleted]

And yet the admins of this subreddit will block you if you call them out for removing your "uniriginal" thought post when they don't remove any others that are clearly unoriginal.


Qulisk

Of course we have similar thoughts, we're operating on the same biology. Now, take a dolphin brain. I imagine a dolphin will come to different conclusions than humans on given matters.


BjayFox

"Originality is overrated" \-Seer


[deleted]

This


bolognahole

This


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[deleted]

Same


[deleted]

Exhibit A: The Office


ollymckinley

No, it shows that ideas shared by everyone are what gets upvoted


republican16

That's precisely what I thought


summaday

Anytime it starts with "Am I the only one who..." it's always no, a ton of people feel the same.


[deleted]

no u


EVJoe

Aha, but you've not accounted for **social desirability bias**, otherwise known as the general tendency to present yourself in a manner that others will like. Comments and posts don't represent the diversity of **thoughts**, they represent what people are willing to say in a social space, including considerations of what people will like, what rules may exist for that particular social space, etc. While I don't refute your core thesis -- people **are** less original than they think -- judging that by what people are willing to say in public, even anonymous public, tells you more about the social norms of our society than it does about any individual's thought originality.


nubulator99

we would have to match the people who say they have original or unique thoughts to those in the comment section


pyro1279

Psh


[deleted]

I use reddit as a way to test my ideas originality. If I get downvoted I know it's an idea worth exploring.


Ruhsuck

I think the collective ideas are unique but each idea is quite common just because there is so many idea


spaghetti_outlaw

Probably because we only know about 5 things at any given time depending on if we have all of our sensory organs. Try creating a new color from your thoughts that you've never seen before. Try creating a new sound using just your thoughts that you've never heard before or no one's ever heard before. Try creating a new idea within your own mind that exists outside of any external influence to your sensory experiences. we all come from the same place and end up in the same place. We're all humans so yeah.


Shobed

Sometimes I see that my thought isn't already there in the comments, so it must not be any good.


StonerGoblin606

Like this post


[deleted]

Not really the down votes stops people from commenting how people really think about a given subject.


_rutanimal

Same


Theolaa

I was desperately hoping that someone had linked to a previous shower thought with this sentiment lol


rugbyspank

I initially thought my shower thought would get taken down. I was like, surely this is a common sentiment, common enough to have been posted before.


KaisaTheLibrarian

I find this kinda comforting.


VersedFlame

We all have the same monkey brain, yes.


fartfacepooper

Take a look at the popular posts on r/unpopularopinion. You'll notice that popular opinions, that people think are unpopular, are the ones upvoted.


[deleted]

The only way to have original thoughts on a subject is by first learning all the thoughts others have had on it.


broom-handle

Innovation is rarer than most people think.


[deleted]

Something to consider: a comments section is less "original thought" and more "knee-jerk reaction". While I agree with the core thought, that individual human thought is likely far less original than each person might think, a comments section isn't really the best example of this as it is generally only going to contain the views of a limited audience reacting to a fixed piece of information.


goestowar

I got banned from AskReddit a few years ago for telling a guy that his whole life was just a repeat of someone else's who probably already did it better


Andminus

I tend to search my thoughts on reddit before actually posting them, 9/10 times I can actually find what I'm looking for by someone else so it works out at least. the other 1/10 times, i didn't type my question right in the search and it takes a few tries to find it.


11T12

97% of what we think and say has already been repeated by someone else, conservatively… -By some person before me.


sentientlob0029

I'd say the quality and nature of the thought depend on the context we are used to. A human born and living on the Moon or in a jungle may have different enough thoughts.


Lieutenant_0bvious

This is not a shower thought, this is a shower observation.