Pattern recognition is not the same as pattern matching

Pattern recognition is a priceless skill that comes with practice, with the experience of noticing. Noticing what works, what you've seen before, what might not work.

Because pattern recognition is so valuable, some people have erroneously concluded that the way to succeed is to slavishly follow what's come before. Pattern matching is for amateurs. It rarely leads to the creation of much that can stand the test of time.

The art is to see patterns, but to use them to do something new, something that rhymes.