On Creativity + Duplication

"The secret, I think, to adapting other people's techniques without finding yourself simply duplicating their work is to look beyond the finished model and sequence, and to figure out why each step was done the way it was. I try to figure out the thought process the inventor used to develop his or her model; if I am successful, I can draw not only on his folding technique, but on his line of thinking as well. Often this necessitates pulling a model apart to discover the symmetries that went into it."

~ Robert Lang, excerpted from Because It's There: February 1988.
A fascinating discussion about Origami focusing on creativity.