We all Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

On the Shoulders of Giants

This title comes from an old phrase, “We all stand upon the shoulders of giants,” which means we build off the work that others did before us.  Because of their actions and sacrifices, we can flourish today.

I first head this from a podcast several years ago by Dan Carlin.  He was interviews someone named James Burke, he would go on to become one of my all-time favorite authors and thinkers.  

During the interview, Carlin, asked Burke how he came up with the revolutionizing idea for his PBS series entitled Connections.

Burke explained that it was actually, of all things, the cause of a footnote he read in a text on medieval Europe.

The author noted in the footnote that the whole rise of feudal society could be traced back to one simple invention: the stirrup.

This allowed warriors to ride horses more effectively.  That caused them to carry weapons.  This called for heavier troops (to wield the weapons more effectively).  That resulted in the need for armored troops (to offset the more effective weapons like lances and swords).  This led to the need for a heavier and sturdier horse.  Soon this led kings to section off land and customize a whole industry around this (hence knights, horsemen, blacksmiths, and so on).

All because of the stirrup.

This blew Burke away.  A whole society resulting from such a minor invention.  He wanted to apply that same view of things to other ‘minor’ inventions.

So Burke placed a call to the august professor who had written the book, and more importantly, the footnote.

“Hello,” Burke said. “I was wondering if I could use the idea of the stirrup leading to the flourishing of feudal society for the basis of a history show where I apply that same strategy to other inventions throughout time.”

The professor simply said, “Go ahead.  I stole the idea.  So you steal it from me.”

This blew Burke away.  “You stole it?” he said.

And then the professor said something that Burke has never forgotten, “Young man,” the professor declared, “You don’t think we’re born with ideas do you?”

After this antidote, Carlin said simple, “We all stand on the shoulders of giants.”

“Exactly,” Burke said.

I was reminded of this same concept when I recently read Thomas Friedman and Michael Madelbaum’s That Used To Be Us.

One of the books key points is that America was built into the greatest country the world has ever seen because of five specific factors:  

1.  We educate our workforce up to (or just beyond) the current level of technology.  If the bulk of our workforce will be working on an assembly line, you educate them how to handle that.  Or if they’ll be sitting at typewriters, you educate them to be productive with that form of technology.  This allows for the workforce to not only be productive but to also innovate and adapt.

2.  We constructed the world’s best infrastructure.  This allows commerce to thrive.

3.  We had an excellent immigration policy.  We welcomed the best and brightest from other countries to come here and settle and start world-class businesses.

4.  Plenty of government support for research and development.  This was in the form of research facilities and universities.  We pushed the boundaries of discovery and innovation.

5.  Finally, we had an excellent set of regulations on private economic activity.  There was a great balance of allowing the private sector to grow but not at the risk of establishing monopolies (which always kill innovation and growth).

During his podcast to the University of Minnesota book store, Thomas Friedman, states, “Every time a business owner comes up to me and says, ‘I was just one, loan guy.  I did it all on my own.’ I always tell him, ‘you did nothing alone.  The success you have is the result of the best combination private/public system the world has ever seen.’”

I was reminded of all of this when I saw this quote on Twitter a few days ago:  “Scary quote: "If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen." - Barack Obama

Now granted this quote is taken out of context, but, to me, it harkens back to the ideas stated by Burke and Friedman.

I know someone who is starting their own business selling a new product.  Yes, he is doing it all on his own.  BUT . . . and this is a huge but . . . he really isn’t.  First, there is the patent laws in place that allow him to place a patent on it so other can’t rip him off.  Second, there is the cheap labor design company in China that manufactures it for him.  Third, there are the vendors that have agreed to sell his product.  Fourth, there are the advertising services he employs.  And on and on and on.

We all stand on the shoulders of giants.

Just look at one of the most successful companies: Apple.

Steve Wozniak admits that he was an introvert and never had the people skills to take his ideas public.  In fact, some think in the true spirit of a hacker, Waz would likely have given away all of his codes and protocols.

Enter one Steve Jobs.  He took Woz’s creations and had the people skills to do the things Waz could never do.

Furthermore, Jobs admits (see his excellent commencement speech at Stanford) the one thing that made the difference for the Mac was a calligraphy class he took after dropping out of Reed college.

So one could argue the professor who taught Jobs the importance of font and serifs and spacing of letters was vital in the development of the Mac.

Now Jobs could say, “I did it all on my own from my sheer determination and charisma and originality.”  But that’s not true.  He stood on the shoulders of giants.  He did nothing alone.  He change the world.  No doubt.  But he made the most out of the help and sacrifices and inventions of others.  As we all do.