Both Uses of
derivative
in
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
- The whole thing is less derivative than it sounds and not without humor and irony.†
Chpt 9 *derivative = something developed from something else
- What happens if the writer is good is usually not that the work seems derivative or trivial but just the opposite: the work actually acquires depth and resonance from the echoes and chimes it sets up with prior texts, weight from the accumulated use of certain basic patterns and tendencies.†
Chpt 20b
Definition:
something developed from something else
in various senses, including:
- a mathematical value from a function -- as in "We can derive X from Y," or "X is a derivative of Y."
- a type of investment whose value is based on another value -- as in "We provide various derivatives that can protect against inflation."
- a work of art such as a film or painting that lacks ideas not previously expressed in other works of art -- as in "Her work is too derivative to interest me."
- work based upon or influenced by prior work -- as in "The book surveys psychological ideas derivative of, but not totally dependent on B.F. Skinner."
- a word based on another word -- as in "Quickly is a derivative of quick."
When used in an artistic context, derivative is often intended to imply a lack of creativity.