No. We already know this is a bad idea. It's seen most clearly in the history of science, where people want to trace back just the theories that worked as oppos

No. We already know this is a bad idea. It's seen most clearly in the history of science, where people want to trace back just the theories that worked as opposed to looking at all the options being worked on at a given time. See the Strong program. In more general history, it leads you to founding myths and connecting largely unconnected things like modern France to Charlemagne's Frankish empire.