right. I feel like the world is desperate to pretend we aren't standing on the shoulders of giants. who wants to reinvent everything, every time. use the paths already there and find shortcuts along the way, then mark them and leave them for the next traveller.
This is why I write down everything when I'm setting something up that's new to me. Even if I go off someone else's tutorial I put it in my own words. That way when I come back to it later I'll understand it and if I run across someone else that's trying to do the same thing I have at least one step by step guide to offer them.
This might actually be helpful for those stressful github tutorials that I come across when trying to setup some open source software because I can't understand it because of the way they've written it
Recognizing that for a second would destroy the basis of private property. How can you say "this is mine" when it comes attached to the work of a million others?
Related to what you said, but not necessarily this post: I was so damn frustrated with my neighborhood community the other day. We had a vote on whether or not to repurpose a huge grass field that takes up a ton of water and sees very little use. We're wasting a ton of money (and water) watering this pristine empty field.
The main argument for keeping the field was "we waste water in other areas of the community as well. The common-area sprinklers were on when it rained the other day. We need to address all waste before making a decision about this empty field."
There are a lot of people that don't realize you can make incremental progress towards a goal.