And I disagree too. If you look at actual "creative" people throughout history they generally mastered what existed before them before making a leap beyond. Picasso was skilled at traditional art and sculpture before he created cubism. Shakespeare wrote sonnets, comedies, and histories (at that time, these were accepted, even tired genres) and was very much a "participant in the system" before transcending that same system. Leonardo Da Vinci was an apprentice to another artist during his early career.

We live in an era where ego gratification makes far too many people think they're creative when really they don't even have the tools developed to be creative.