not for inspiration or for the sake of patterning oneself after...but at the very least to make sure ur not copying anyone, or rehashing something thats been done to death already without knowing it. i mean, someone might think he's being very clever and original, but thats just due to ignorance, cuz in reality he's filling out a tried and tested formula with slightly different variables, dig?
i mean, once in a while a genius prodigy can come along and do something new without even knowing what was old...but thats why theyre geniuses, and only come every so often.
most of us cant come up with anything new, so what we have to do is study the old heads at least a little so that when we inevitably trod over charted and cultivated territory we can pay our respects and maybe after doing enough of that arrive at something that looks or smells kinda new...
but thats just me.