Carl, I think the "on the shoulders of giants" metaphor is usually attributed to Isaac Newton. At any rate, he wrote in a letter to Robert Hooke in 1675: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”.
Years ago I read a book that explored the origin of this phrase/metaphor, though I've forgotten much that I learned. I do recall that it was a fabulous book that I enjoyed quite a bit.
This is it.
Stephen Hawking and Umberto Echo also wrote books with the same title.