But if we’re trying to design something more complicated - like a car - do we really want to spend all our time re-inventing wheels? Who knows, maybe the wheel can in fact be improved upon. We think we can reinvent the wheel, and that our version will be better. Chartes Cathedral was named after Bernard of Chartre, the 12th century scholar who first observed that we “stand on the shoulders of giants.” The south windows of the cathedral depict scholars on the shoulders of scholars. Every year.Īnd we don’t always get our money’s worth. Enough to acquire Instagram 1,500 times over. About 60% of the $2.5 trillion we spend on technology every year goes toward software development and software consulting services. They say: “I know, I’ll build this new thing from scratch.”Īnd they embark on a costly journey to build their dreams from the ground up. Things worth using.īut every day, thousands of people ignore these things. Over the aeons, we discovered some pretty neat ideas and built some pretty cool things. Giants started to emerge, riding on oral tradition. Ubuntu “I am what I am because of who we all are.” - English translation of the Zulu word “Ubuntu”Įven in the darkness of human prehistory, we started figuring out some cool things. You need to recognize how much there is out there that only these giants can show you. The climb doesn’t seem like it would be worth the effort.īefore you can stand on the shoulders of giants, you need to accept that you don’t see everything.

Most people figure they can see far enough from where they’re already standing. With an internet connection, you can stand on the shoulders of as many giants as you’d like.īut most people don’t realize how much they’d see if they bothered climbing up there. They’re all over the place - not just in books, like in Newton’s time. In 1676, Isaac Newton spoke of the great thinkers who came before him as “giants.” Their insights helped him discover new insights of his own.ģ40 years later, the giants are much taller. “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Isaac Newton

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