It doesn't mean you should keep on copying though. All the anglers who, in one way or another, have contributed to our collective knowledge, have done so through independant thought.
As for whether spodding causes more disturbance than other methods, well no, it probably doesn't in deep water. But I would still be cautious of introducing too much bait unless I had a definite reason for so doing, based on experience of the water in question.
How often have we picked a swim that looks ideal and is known to produce carp (or tench, bream - whatever), sit there watching motionless indicators all day, only to have someone stroll past at some point and say 'You won't do no good there mate; fished it all weekend without a sniff. Put two thousand boilies and six tins of tiger nits out an' all!'
It's happened to me many times.