My ad hoc response would be that this is a question of maturity. In an unexplored area you have to experiment to find the principles that work. Once you have found them, you should use them, everyone rediscovering them on their own is probably a waste of time. On the other hand discovering something on your own can aid a deeper understanding, so maybe it is not too bad after all. And it provides an opportunity to reevaluate, maybe the environment has changed in such a way that the principles also have to change.