Synthesis is the Mother of Invention

For the last few weeks, we keep coming back to this "thing" we call synthesis, what it is and why we do it, or rather why we should learn to do it. And the more I think and talk about it with you, I keep coming to the realization that synthesis is the mother of invention, which is to say that synthesis is the difference between creating new knowledge and falling into the trap of plagiarism.

As Steven Johnson puts it, synthesis is the collision of different hunches, which in turn give birth to a new hunch: 

In academic lingo, we would say that synthesis is the result of a thesis that collides with an antithesis and gives being to a new idea or thesis--a synthesis.

Now, there is one question that has come up a few times as we selected "Digitalk" and "Txtng is Killing Writing: JK!!!" for the synthesis project: Does synthesis presuppose the convergence of opposite ideas. If we look at the textbook definition of synthesis (thesis collides with antithesis which then births a new thesis, which in turn meets its antithesis, and so forth and so on), that would appear to be the case--that a new idea can only be born from the encounter of opposites. But I feel that would create a too-narrow definition of synthesis, one that would obstruct rather than encourage us to create new ideas. 

Today in class, we went back to thinking about how synthesis is used in non-academic settings to produce new ideas. We also went back to Leslie Grace's remix of "Be, Be My Baby," on the local radio, I realized that synthesis can happen when we merge different ideas into one, even when those ideas are not necessarily in binary opposition. In this case, Leslie Grace has synthesized The Ronette's original with bachata and Spanish translations of the lyrics to produce a modernized, translingual version of this song--a new song, really:

I also shared with you a synthesis example from my own life. My dad is currently working on a series of clay pots (vasijería) that combines design features (overall shape, handles, decorations) of ancient pottery pieces from Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. He has created new pieces, new forms, from the meshing of design features across many different pottery traditions. That to me is synthesis at its best (Of course I'd never say that to him. We all know parents know best. No need to remind them though).

I do wonder if invention ever happens without synthesis.

I feel like there's really nothing new under the sun, so our best bet is to carefully listen to others with an empathetic and critical ear, as that is the only way we will ever be capable of creating new good ideas.