Deciphering the idea of ​​plagiarism inadvertently

There is nothing indignant by thinking of a great idea or an ideal solution but being stolen by someone else. However, in some cases, idea thieves do not even realize that they have just done something bad, difficult to accept.

Thieves are not intentional

Many people said that they had experienced a bitter situation of being stolen by their bosses without knowing how to denounce it. In a survey of more than 1,000 employees in 2015, one in five bosses often acknowledged employees' ideas. Worse, everyone admits to stealing ideas at least once. Nearly half of the respondents said their ideas were stolen to "polish names" for others and those who stole their public robbery.

However, studies show that, in some cases, thieves do not realize they are robbing others. They are "accidentally" thieves . According to psychologists, those who steal ideas that are not aware of their own "cryptomnesia - potential consciousness" syndrome , a memory-related syndrome that mistakenly thinks a certain memory is an idea. original creation. This syndrome may occur in the case of the canonical version of a fake or a doctor claiming to find a new method even though it has been used for many years.

Recently, the music industry has been rumored to be led by Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page to "Taurus" by Randy Wolfe (of the Spirit, less famous) to include the famous song "Stairway to Heaven".

At the trial in Los Angeles (USA), music experts confirmed the incredible similarity of the two songs. Page admits that Spirit's album and Led Zeppelin once played a Spirit piece, but "Taurus" he heard. That led many people to believe that Jimmy had "an awakening" syndrome and opposed the court ruling him plagiarizing.

Many people still doubt Jimmy Page has crytomnesia syndrome.(Photo: Thedailybeast).

Decode the potential consciousness syndrome

It is difficult to remember the origin of what you know because there are two types of long-term memories that can be consciously recalled. For example, when sitting in a meeting, your brain is busy updating information about where, what time, who is talking, how the weather is - a series of personal experiences that follow. It was a memory of the circumstances . In addition, you have to remember the content of the meeting - called "content memory".

The information in the original 2 types of memories is stored in the same place, then separated. This dual system helps to recall information more effectively. However, sometimes the recall is malfunctioning. You suddenly remembered an offer from the previous meeting and didn't know who it came from; or unexpectedly you have a new idea, but it was actually raised by others. That is when the secretive memory is forgotten.

Thieves of "unintentional" ideas often forget the memory of the plot, when group discussion leads to some idea that might make a member think that is his idea.

Such cases appear quite often and the syndrome has a rare memory. Good ideas are easier to steal than bad ideas.The phenomenon of theft depends not only on the quality of the idea but also on the credibility of the person who made it.

"Most of us have fake memories that are not known, " said psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, Washsington University.

In one experiment, participants were asked to include name words in categories, such as a list of four-legged animals. After that, they had to point out the words they had included such as dogs, sheep and elephants . As a result, nearly 10% of them unintentionally "picked up" the words that others suggested.

In the advertising industry - where referring to ideas is part of the workflow, cryptomnesia syndrome occurs every day. Karen Corrigan - founder of advertising agency Happiness Brussels - acknowledges this fact: "It happens and happens very often. Designers of ideas - often researching previous advertisements - often memorize them unconsciously and then come up with similar ideas ".

According to experts, in most cases, it is difficult to determine whether the act of plagiarism is intentional. Therefore, Richard Beer - Creative Director at Don't Panic London - said that the most important thing is to protect your ideas.