[jart]

If that were true then modern authors would just be guys trying to reinvent Shakespeare. As programmers, the programs we write can be art as much as it can serve a business utility. Some things progress but some things never change too, and each generation finds a way to express those things in a new and beautiful way. While learning to become a better programmer, I've found it helpful to read and be inspired by things like the UNIX source code, or texts written by guys like Vannevar Bush or John McCarthy, just as fiction authors might find inspiration reading the classics.