The absence of creativity in Feist and the computational process

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991 in Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Service Co. affirmed originality as a constitutional requirement for copyright. Originality has a specific sense and is constituted by a minimal degree of creativity and independent creation. The not original is the more developed concept within the decision. It includes the absence of a minimal degree of creativity as a major constituent. Different levels of absence of creativity also are distinguished, from the extreme absence of creativity to insufficient creativity. There is a gestalt effect of analogy between the delineation of the not original and the concept of computability. More specific correlations can be found within the extreme absence of creativity. "[S]o mechanical" in the decision can be correlated with an automatic mechanical procedure and clauses with a historical resonance with understandings of computability as what would naturally be regarded as computable. The routine within the extreme absence of creativity can be regarded as the product of a computational process. The concern of this article is with rigorously establishing an understanding of the extreme absence of creativity, primarily through the correlations with aspects of computability. The understanding established is consistent with the other elements of the not original. It also revealed as testable under real-world conditions. The possibilities for understanding insufficient creativity, a minimal degree of creativity, and originality, from the understanding developed of the extreme absence of creativity, are indicated. 

Creativity for Feist

This paper develops an understanding of creativity to meet the requirements of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Feist v. Rural (1991). The inclusion of creativity in originality, in a minimal degree of creativity, and in a creative spark below the level required for originality, is first established. Conditions for creativity are simultaneously derived. Clauses negatively implying creativity are then identified and considered.

The clauses which imply creativity can be extensively correlated with conceptions of computability. The negative of creativity is then understood as an automatic mechanical or computational procedure or a so routine process which results in a highly routine product. Conversely, creativity invariantly involves a not mechanical procedure. The not mechanical is then populated by meaning, in accord with accepted distinctions, drawing on a range of discourses. Meaning is understood as a different level of analysis to the syntactic or mechanical and also as involving direct human engagement with meaning. As direct engagement with meaning, it can be connected to classic concepts of creativity, through the association of dissimilars. Creativity is finally understood as not mechanical human activity above a certain level of routinicity.

Creativity is then integrated with a minimal degree of creativity and with originality. The level of creativity required for a minimal degree is identified as intellectual. The combination of an intellectual level with a sufficient amount of creativity can be read from the exchange values connected with the product of creative activity. Humanly created bibliographic records and indexes are then possible correlates to or constituents of a minimal degree of creativity. A four stage discriminatory process for determining originality is then specified. Finally, the strength and value of the argument are considered.

Finally, the strength and value of the argument are considered.

Molecular Computational Elements Encode Large Populations of Small Objects

Since the introduction of molecular computation1, 2, experimental molecular computational elements have grown3, 4, 5 to encompass small-scale integration6, arithmetic7 and games8, among others. However, the need for a practical application has been pressing. Here we present molecular computational identification (MCID), a demonstration that molecular logic and computation can be applied to a widely relevant issue. Examples of populations that need encoding in the microscopic world are cells in diagnostics or beads in combinatorial chemistry (tags). Taking advantage of the small size9 (about 1 nm) and large 'on/off' output ratios of molecular logic gates and using the great variety of logic types, input chemical combinations, switching thresholds and even gate arrays in addition to colours, we produce unique identifiers for members of populations of small polymer beads (about 100 m) used for synthesis of combinatorial libraries10, 11. Many millions of distinguishable tags become available. This method should be extensible to far smaller objects, with the only requirement being a 'wash and watch' protocol12. Our focus on converting molecular science into technology concerning analog sensors13, 14, turns to digital logic devices in the present work.