Most of the time, we can see farther if we're on the shoulder of giant. Having a good memory allow you to have a big memory of snippets you can reuse and adapt

Most of the time, we can see farther if we're on the shoulder of giant. Having a good memory allow you to have a big memory of snippets you can reuse and adapt. You will need to be wary of not being a simple copy machine, which is require attention. I know some like to explore on their own the world though and re create the wheel by themselve, in the hope of finding a new way. I respect that, it can lead to great result if you have enough courage to endure this path. I find that mixing both is the best path forward - put yourself in strange land, but with some solid foundation to help you.