We create out of recycled thought, yet don’t often think of it
this way. We base learning on what was once learned. Knowledge
built from prior knowledge. We base method on methods that have
come before. Certainly it is not a bad thing, but one to be
admired. Why? One thing humans can do very well is learn from
others. Borrow like an artist! In fact, most professions start
the creative or scientific process by borrowing from somewhere
else. One idea sparks another. We layer on top of the ideas of
others. We build upon to improve or take the idea on a
transformative journey. Raindrops in Spiderweb as Art Since we
borrow so freely, what is truly new then? When we discover, we
may just find, even by accident. How often do we find the
unknown? Create the unimaginable? Few do or ever will, but the
many before have laid the groundwork and the path to follow.
Never do people design from thin air, even when designing as an
individual. Experience always influences. Ernst von Glasersfeld
asserted that “knowledge is cons