For me, I suppose it can help to have an idea more refined by prior art. The initial idea or drafting is my creation. I found it to be useful background in many aspects.
I do think people shouldn't worry about the "competition" more than just a bit, but I wouldn't purposefully remain ignorant. A certain amount of research is only a positive. It can be tempting to mimic the work of others, so I'd recommend writing down your fundamental hypotheses before you do the research and be honest about whether they are true after you've examined the landscape.
One lesson in researching prior art is to pay attention to what people are doing in different domains, but with business and technical patterns you can borrow from. Rather than paying too much attention to the domain you're entering, pay attention to what folks in other domains are doing well that you can borrow from. The story that gets referenced with this concept is Ford paying attention to the best practices of the slaughtering industry, rather than the automotive industry, in order to improve the automotive industry with the assembly line. Ford references are sort of cliché, but I like that one.
Ultimately the value of any good idea will be realized well in the future, so use the current landscape for data, but don't get too caught up in it. Keep re-evaluating your fundamental assumptions and use those as your guiding line to avoid the contamination you're speaking of.
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Do you find it more helpful or harmful to research prior art? Does it contaminate your original idea or is it useful background?
For me, I suppose it can help to have an idea more refined by prior art. The initial idea or drafting is my creation. I found it to be useful background in many aspects.
I do think people shouldn't worry about the "competition" more than just a bit, but I wouldn't purposefully remain ignorant. A certain amount of research is only a positive. It can be tempting to mimic the work of others, so I'd recommend writing down your fundamental hypotheses before you do the research and be honest about whether they are true after you've examined the landscape.
One lesson in researching prior art is to pay attention to what people are doing in different domains, but with business and technical patterns you can borrow from. Rather than paying too much attention to the domain you're entering, pay attention to what folks in other domains are doing well that you can borrow from. The story that gets referenced with this concept is Ford paying attention to the best practices of the slaughtering industry, rather than the automotive industry, in order to improve the automotive industry with the assembly line. Ford references are sort of cliché, but I like that one.
Ultimately the value of any good idea will be realized well in the future, so use the current landscape for data, but don't get too caught up in it. Keep re-evaluating your fundamental assumptions and use those as your guiding line to avoid the contamination you're speaking of.