Arguments of invention and whether it is an individual act or a collaborative one are discussed within Invention as a Social Act.  As Plato has stated, original ideas can only exist within the realms of reality if only explored inside the individual. According to the individualist, invention is a private act, brought about through introspection.  Upon unfolding one's inner being, the ideas, feelings and one's true voice emerges.  This is a traditional mode of thought, as many writers in history and teachers think of writing to be an isolated action.  

The counter side of this argument proclaims that invention is a social act.  Creative thought is influenced by work that has come before, and to create a new work, one cannot completely isolate themselves from what has been already established.  Therefore, whether it is intentional or not, an "original" work will be influenced by either work that has come before it, or through the countless number of revisions and suggested additions made by trusted peers.  

It is my belief that invention functions as a dual personality.  The creative process may begin as a sole venture but can quickly turn into a collaborative activity. This idea can be seen through the English language.  Historically, the English language came about through the integration of several languages and dialects.  These languages were brought by Germanic settlers that came into England.  In addition, a fair amount of words are rooted in Latin, due to the fact that Latin was the lingua franca of the Christian Church.  English was then influenced by the Old Norse language brought in by the Vikings.  The greatest influence the English language experienced was during the Norman invasion in 1066.  This invasion gave rise to Norman-French vocabulary, spelling and grammar conventions were utilized  in English.  Anglo-Norman, a dialect spoken in northern France introduced a mass amount of French words in the English language.  As we further investigate this phenomenon, we see that English is the most linguistically diverse language in the world.  English has influences from Arabic, Hindi, Greek, Latin, French and Germanic languages.  Such a linguistic impact would not have been possible if not for the global societies that came into contact with one another.  Due to invasions, colonialism, and trading, significant individuals in each culture came together to change the course of a single language.  At times, this interaction was not welcomed, but it definitely occurred.  

In modern times, we see interactive and collaborative efforts taking place on the internet through computer mediated communication (CMC), otherwise known as text language.  CMC first arrived on the scene when individuals wrote in shorthand, but eventually appeared in internet chat rooms. Users abbreviate words to cut down on time.  Expressions like "lol" and "g2g" were created, and thus influenced further creations that have led people to completely abbreviate their sentences when communicating on the internet.  These creations were not the work of one individual, but a group of people.  The work of a few individuals have allowed millions to embrace or reject these expressions.  

Question:

How does collaboration change the individual's original intent?