APAD: Standing on the shoulders of giants

最西边的岛上 2025-12-21 08:19:03 ( reads)

"Standing on the shoulders of giants" means achieving new insights or progress by building upon the knowledge, discoveries, and work of those who came before you, acknowledging that your advancements are not entirely your own but are made possible by predecessors' foundational efforts. It's a metaphor for intellectual and scientific progress to humbly credit past thinkers.

The phrase originates from medieval thinkers Bernard of Chartres, who used it to describe how dwarfs (scholars) see further by being elevated by giants (past thinkers), but it was famously popularized by Isaac Newton in a 1675 letter to Robert Hooke, stating, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".

- From online with editing
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Yesterday, one particular comment under a post in 投坛 about AI investment caught my eye (can be seen by clicking the comment above mine below).

That reminds me of the law of conservation of energy. Although somewhat different, gain and loss always go hand in hand nevertheless. But, for whatever reason, the phrase of today's APAD came to my mind (and hands) first

It rained the whole day yesterday, like lots of winter days here, but we went for a walk regardless. During one hour walking in the rain, it suddenly hit me: Ahhh, AI is the one who stands on the shoulders of all giants! And it does it so much much faster than any human can. Sigh ... ...

Two things learnt:
1. Don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a person by his/her net name, as a "mouse" can be a deep thinker . 2. Walking in rain is a very good way to clear my hair and head!!!