Introduction The main drivers and sources of people’s creativity and idea development are rather diverse, and there exist several entirely different opinions about this process. Some people believe that everything created is just a duplication of masterpieces and works of art created in the past. From this viewpoint, modern artists, novelists, and sculptors simply use past ideas as a basis and repeat them in a modified way. Other experts, however, believe that people steal ideas from each other, condemning such activity and calling it plagiarism. Apart from this viewpoint, others still think that external ideas find their way to their creators using inner thoughts or even conversations with themselves and other people. The existence of such diverse opinions has formed a basis for continuous debate on the subject, so it is reasonable to review each belief from a different viewpoint and explore each idea with the help of practical examples from the real world of art. As for my perception, I strongly believe that all works have to be recognized and that plagiarism should not be supported, as it has a devastating impact on one’s creativity and affects the very definition of originality negatively. So, what is the difference between originality and plagiarism? Understanding the World through Perceptions of Other People When trying to explain his viewpoint on people’s inability to create and develop entirely new ideas, David Shields notes that there is “no such thing as originality” (Shields). The author is convinced that everything we invent is a recycled use of something that has already been designed. One of the brightest examples of this idea is the pop art movement. Andy Warhol, as one of the most recognized representatives of pop art, used an existing photo of Marilyn Monroe to create a “recycled” piece of art, Marilyn Diptych (Magnussen et al. 11). This sort of “plagiarism” was the basis for the development of a completely new art movement. This case entirely complies with Shields’ opinion. He opposes the necessity to cite everything taken from other sources since it is apparent that the ideas are not new. Indeed, the author even remarks that the citation “domesticates” and “flattens” the masterpiece and deprives it of its “excitement, risk, and danger” (Shields). For another example, in his artwork, Lichtenstein uses plots and images from comic strips (Magnussen et al. 12). This risky act helps him create unique and interesting masterpieces without the need to cite the source of the idea as it is apparent. It adds peculiarity and novelty to the era of pop art. In turn, when discussing plagiarism in writing, Shields emphasizes that there is no real distinction between the works of fiction and non-fiction writers, as both of them employ memory and imagination simultaneously. Shields call these two notions “Siamese twins” and says that no writer has the power to separate them (Shields). For example, even though popular singers such as Kanye West and Rihanna often refer to past songs, their art is considered to be new and original. It could be claimed that the principal idea of Shields’ article is to show that not all cases of copying can be defined as plagiarism, as sometimes taking from a well-known