Even Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen far, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants," meaning all the scientists who came before him.
What the pessimists above are missing out on is the possibility for synthesis: maybe you're the first guy to think to apply an old idea to a new situation, and it succeeds brilliantly. Or, neither of two existing ideas will solve a problem, but you find a way to combine the best of both.
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