The fact that in certain times there are popular and less popular areas of study, or topics, has nothing to do with the scientific method. At any time, anyone,

The fact that in certain times there are popular and less popular areas of study, or topics, has nothing to do with the scientific method. At any time, anyone, could posit any kind of idea, like "the Moon is made of cheese", and the whole scientific method boils down to basically everyone else demanding "prove it." The fact that at times people might be afraid or uninterested in testing ideas which seem far-fetched or unpopular in their community, is another thing entirely.