@teleclimber Yup Abrash followed that anecdote up sayng "The early pioneers probably beat you to it", blaming the uptick in being offered new ideas on software patents.
"Virtually every idea I’ve encountered in 3-D graphics was invented decades ago. You think you have a clever graphics idea? Sutherland, Sproull, Schumacker, Catmull, Smith, Blinn, Glassner, Kajiya, Heckbert, or Teller probably thought of your idea years ago."
(1990s)