I am probably not intellectual enough to contribute too meaningfully to this thread, but I have really enjoyed reading it.
I do have a simple thought on the topic though:
I always wondered how much easier it must have been back in the day, to seem really smart because there was so much left to "discover". Now it seems in almost any discipline, it's all been done or thoroughly thought through by "more qualified people", so you are expected to read/review everything others have said before you can add/build meaningfully on the existing knowledge base. What a tedious drag/beat-down. What a deterrent to the generation of independent out of the box ideas.
I made a similar point earlier in this thread
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....at_is_talent_Ultimate_Phi.html#Post99088 , but I do think people should study what others have discovered, so that they may "stand on the shoulders of giants".
