[Qem]

I also have this impression. I think the current system lacks intellectual diversity. Lots of people pursuing the same few popular lines of inquiry, because if they get away from the herd, they have a hard time joining a big research group, getting funds and getting more people to read and cite their papers.

[samus]

That problem is kind of inherent in the domain. In the past, significant research could be done with the meager stipends from generous nobles. Cutting-edge physics labs and supercomputers for astrophysical simulations are significantly more expensive.