Originality for accountability, what came first
...
© 2025 Iony Smith
Carrying the weight (at times back
breaking [hyperbole, hunched over with better views of the
ground most likely] and other instances, with little to no pull
from gravity) here, I'm obligating myself (transparency or
perhaps, self-defense) when stepping outside of the chill zone
with my words and displaying the muse of my inner sanctum, into
the fray of friends and foes [can be one of the same],
sycophants, elephants, critics, angels, the God revealed,
have always abandoned or selectively avowed.
Rarely, abundant time spent (and potentially wasted) on such
purging and word authenticity, forensics - all, in search
of possible replicas to my assumed, original words and thoughts,
only to meet up with other creations, already living before my
own creative birth or bursts. Generally [or has become of
recent] more fun than with purpose or affirmation, holding
myself accountable in this way.
And almost always or exclusively, what I'm examining are the
more aphoristic quips (few enough words) where I couldn't strip
down any further, without losing the original reason(s) for
saying/writing what I did, the way I did.
To begin;
version_1 : To do nothing is to get nothing ...
why expect more?
The following surfaced when first testing out version_1 (v1)
(above), typing the prompt using AI Overview; "who said To
do nothing is to get nothing ... why expect more?"
The search was performed AFTER
crafting, manicuring and calling it done for v1.
Listed in order
(rankings) of how the results appeared on the search results (afternoon
of July 18, 2025).
NOTE: due to some inconsistencies and although AI Overview did identify as presented below the 'owner' of the quote, only the first link came from the AI Overview platform. The other two are from separate searches and filled in, as the originals from AI Overview were not consistent in maintaining the direct linkage upon different attempts.
(first) "If you do nothing you get nothing" attributed to Aung San Suu Kyi (according to BrainyQuote)
(second) "To do nothing is the way to be nothing" by Nathaniel Hawthorne,
(and third) "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing" by Aristotle
It would appear version_1's originality (in form,
substance and exactitude) is safe. However, it would also
appear contextually, several other earlier sentiments (not
mine), include variations and nuances, including when applied to
my own.
As I did question when originally writing To do nothing is to
get nothing ... why expect more? I ended the
way I did, "why expect more."? My initial
reticence in going with this conclusion, is still upon me in that
I can very easily (and perhaps with greater conviction) cozy up to
the idea nothing as in nothingness within the
framework of Zen Buddhism. This also explains the tugging
of hesitancy when ending the above as I did in its original
conception and execution.
Why expect more (the ending of, to do nothing is to get nothing), runs contrary to the idea/concept of nothing or the more Eastern persuasion of nothingness, where the source of potential possibilities is an essential part of everything that exists.
Emptiness or shunyata (Zen Buddhism) and related to
another concept anatta "no self", i.e.,path to
liberation from suffering. has me now playing around with
revising the original quote (mine) more to what was my initial
concern that "why expect more ..." was perhaps more of a literary
come on or device, to stimulate dialogue and discussion for
students enrolled in a college course I was teaching, where
using theory as a backdrop would be the gateway for unfolding
other, lessons.
The original expression in retrospect, fits within the more
conventional Western way of understanding nothing, from a
more pejorative or negative, underpinning (at least as the AI
Overview search encompasses).
Here's the revision to v1, when scribed still original (as far as
I knew before doing any search), will be labeled, version_2
(v2). The bold below is to frame and isolate where v1 was
revised and became, v2.
To do nothing is to get nothing but the
rewards of nothingness ... .
I again typed a prompt using AI Overview :
what does the following in quotes mean "To do nothing is to
get nothing but the rewards of nothingness ..." and the reply to
the search was:
"Essentially, the quote emphasizes that taking
action is crucial for progress, growth, and achieving your
aspirations. Without it, the outcome is simply the absence of
positive results and potential opportunities."
And from a more recent repeat using the same prompt above, appeared the following:
Suggesting, AI Overview
is stuck in Western conventions and connotations of awareness
and self-actualization, different than the Eastern versions of
wisdom and self-awareness.
and the AI
conveyance was:
The above would
appear to validate v2 is original, that is, I said it
first and I'm sticking with it, until proven differently -
this project now ending, was secondary to verifying
authenticity, however, have found some useful information
as its progenitor.
I think I hear "google" AI Overview
in the background hallucinating:
To do
nothing is to get nothing ... why expect more? (more provocative?)
To do nothing is to get
nothing but the rewards of nothingness ... (more invocative?)