I like the idea of the lens "How can we test that cheaply?" that I think you're proposing.

There's a tension in that that sometimes something needs to be experienced to be felt and integrated. For myself I think I'm better equiped to integrate others learning if I have the start of an experience to hang ideas on. Perhaps the trick is knowing how to get enough experience and knowing when to talk to others.

I've also heard an interesting argument fo reinventing the wheel - by revisiting the same idea naively, with different people, in different contexts, at different times, we have more chances of finding new combinations, or for a good idea to find the right time. In moderation obviously, but I really like this counterpoint