When you look at great geniuses like Newton, for example, it can be easy to imagine that their ideas and work came exclusively out of their minds. But that is seldom how it works.

Innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Regardless of how unique a work seems, if you look a bit closer, you wil...

We get to see further than our predecessors, not because we have a greater vision or greater height, but because we are lifted on their gigantic stature.

There are giants in every field. Don't let them intimidate you. Take from anywhere that resonates with you and inspires or fuels you...

'Not invented here syndrome' is a term for situations when we avoid using ideas, products, or data created by someone else, and instead develop our own even if it is more expensive, time-consuming, and of lower quality.
The syndrome can also show up as a reluctance to d...

Steve Jobs is often shown as a revolutionary figure who changed how we use technology. In reality, he stood on the shoulders of the many unseen engineers, students, and scientists who worked for decades to build the technology he improved upon.

Much of Shakespeare's plays came from prior works.

• Hamlet took inspiration from Gesta Danorum, a twelfth-century work on Danish history by Saxo Grammaticus, consisting of sixteen Latin books.
• Holinshed’s Chronicles likely inspired Macbeth and King Lear.
• Parts of Ant...

Why can't people come up with their own ideas? Why do many people come up with great ideas but don't profit from it?

Each new innovation or idea opens up the possibility of additional innovations and ideas. At first, there are limits, but those limits are continually expanding.

Technology, art, and other advances are only possible because someone else has laid the groundwork.

Shakespeare could write plays because other people had developed the structures and language that became his tools.

What new doors can you open, based on the work of the gian...