Isaac Newton famously said
If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.
Later Mathematician R. W. Hamming added
Mathematicians stand on each other’s shoulders while computer scientists stand on each other’s toes.
Finally, computer scientist Hal Abelson quipped
If I have not seen farther, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.
(Thanks to Mark Reid for the Hamming quote.)
That also explains why we are such bad dancers. ;-)
If I have seen further than others, it is because I am knee-deep in dwarves
– Greg Cochran