You’re unlikely to spot the new without giving plenty of time to the old.

New scientific discoveries are built on the work of earlier researchers, and the more familiar you are with prior studies, the more likely you are to make a new breakthrough. The same goes for technology: new tools emerge from what came before. If you want to find fresh solutions or truly master a new technique, start by learning what’s already available.

A high school math teacher of mine once said something that really stuck with me. Math may seem like a field with little practical application, but it teaches one fundamental lesson: learn to use the known to solve the unknown.