Original Ideas for Extended Essay?

[ABKor752]

For our extended essay, we need to come up with an original idea. I have one, but I am not sure if anyone else has done it. How can I make sure that my idea is entirely new and has not been done elsewhere, even in the littlest bit?

P.S. I rather not share my specific topic yet since it is still in the works, but if it helps, I am doing a mathematics EE and I have a new proof I would like to try. If you really need me to, I can outline the basics of my EE.

[kw0573]

Hi. Original does not mean unique.
Original just means you come up with the idea.

Unique means you are the only one to come up with the idea. You should be fine.

[ABKor752]

Ok, but what if I want to make a new theorem, and it has already been done before and I just don't know it? Sure, it wouldn't be unique, but it would be very hard to be original if I think it is my own work when really I am doing the exact same thing that someone else has done.

[kw0573]

26 minutes ago, ABKor752 said:

Ok, but what if I want to make a new theorem, and it has already been done before and I just don't know it? Sure, it wouldn't be unique, but it would be very hard to be original if I think it is my own work when really I am doing the exact same thing that someone else has done.

You just have to do your own work. In practice, most of academic research is heavily founded upon previous work (each paper would cite maybe 20-40 other papers). However, most papers are in fact original because they have explored different perspectives or focus as their predecessors. So IB does not discourage you from referencing others' ideas. Think originality as home-improving, not home-construction. You only have to take what others have done, and put your own twist on it. Hope that clarifies!