The comment you responded to isn't about unions either. To re-paraphrase it: "Progress isn't made by small increases in quantity, but large changes brought by d

The comment you responded to isn't about unions either. To re-paraphrase it: "Progress isn't made by small increases in quantity, but large changes brought by doing something completely differently." Or "Progress doesn't usually happen iteratively, but in great bounds when fundamental assumptions are challenged". The things that you listed are examples of that kind of progress.