There are pro's and con's to studying the literature. The main pro is that you can avoid a dead end. The main con is that your ideas will be shaped by the liter

There are pro's and con's to studying the literature. The main pro is that you can avoid a dead end. The main con is that your ideas will be shaped by the literature (i.e., not as unique). I tend to try to solve a problem myself first (this could be days or weeks), then look at the literature. If I looked at the literature first, then my ideas would look like the literature. It's a gamble either way