Even on a surface level, the advice is bad: We have much better wheels today than 4500–3300 BCE when the first wheel was invented. It was also crucially important that wheels got reinvented throughout civilizations and cultures.

Reasons for Reinventing the Wheel There are great reasons to reinvent the wheel:

Build a better wheel (for some definition of better) Learn how wheels are made Teach others about wheels Learn about the inventors of wheels Be able to change wheels or fix them when they break Learn the tools needed to make wheels along the way Learn a tiny slice of what it means to build a larger system (such as a vehicle) Help someone in need of a very special wheel. Maybe for a wheelchair?

Don’t reinvent the wheel out of distrust or ignorance of the work of others.