In 1675 Isaac Newton wrote in a letter to Robert Hooke "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". While this is poetic, and shows h

In 1675 Isaac Newton wrote in a letter to Robert Hooke "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". While this is poetic, and shows humility and respect for those who came before him, one should be careful not to convince yourself that these giants are superhuman or that they had no help themselves. Humanity is where it is today after millions upon millions of incremental advances each supported on all sides by thousands more that came before them. We would not be here were it not for the early farmers asking a question and exploring the answers to eventually develop agricuture. We would not be here if many thousands of years ago there were not people who noticed a tiny piece of something strange amidst the coals of a hot fire to plunge us into the bronze age. Those people no longer have names to immortalise them, but neither do the people around them that helped them become the people they were destined to be. Their families, their friends, their communities, and those they traded with because there was some benefit or progress to be made. And these people are just as important to humanity as any whose name will be remembered forever. Galileo didn't invent the telescope. But he was among the first to point it to the heavens. You should not look to imitate what Galileo did however. But you can certainly follow his motivations. Learn what you can about all things around you. Satisfy your curiosity. Build your knowledge. Learn your tools. Follow your passions, whatever they are in life. Strive to do good, and greatness may find you. But most of all, keep your mind open to the possibilities. You may not become Newton, but you may just become the person to cultivate that apple tree, without which we may not have had Newton at all.