Finding Things Out Yourself

Yesterday, I found myself torn between the desire to figure something out myself and the desire to learn from people who know better than me.  It's very satisfying to retread ground of the pioneers who've gone before you.  (By the way, I'm talking about climbing, mostly). I read of Richard Feynman working through the proofs of Calculus that Newton wrote.  And I enjoy climbing the climbs that were at the edge 30 years ago in the style that they climbed them -- from the ground up, not knowing what was above them, what the moves were, how hard the moves were.  It's satisfying to know that "I can do it too".

However, I realized yesterday, that what I need to do is learn all I can from those that came before me, so that I can get to the edge were no one knows anything.  Stand on the shoulders of giants.  (Boy that sounds grandiose).  Otherwise, I'll have to content myself with just reinventing the wheel and making the same mistakes that others have made, potentially making their mistakes be in vain.