I've heard it said that "There are as many ideas -- thoughts about truth or reality -- as there are thinkers."

Really? It often seems to me that we have a rather limited, finite pool of ideas that we keep circulating amongst ourselves. It also seems to me that the number of ideas in that pool is much smaller than the number of thinkers thinking about them.

Or perhaps there are fewer genuine "thinkers" worthy of the name than is usually supposed?

In my experience, very few people have what I would call a unique perspective on the world. Most of them have simply cobbled something together using ideas they got from their parents, from their friends, or from the television. Their goal doesn't seem to be getting at the truth or reality so much as it is with fitting in with the crowd and with emulating the kind of behavior which earns the respect of the crowd. The only thing which distinguishes them is which crowd they have chosen to run with.

Mind you, I'm not claiming any uniqueness for myself! I know which crowd(s) I run with, or would like to run with.