I wouldn't say they are insignificant, just that as a pure informational discipline the cost to actually implementing the discovery (in this case, spreading the

I wouldn't say they are insignificant, just that as a pure informational discipline the cost to actually implementing the discovery (in this case, spreading the information) is close to zero (and much less than even the spreading of software or even pure algorithms in some cases, which in our current environment is so often encumbered in some way), the low hanging fruit is gone. Especially in history, where until new methods of looking in the past are discovered most things are already well trod, the effort to contribute something actually new and noteworthy seems very high, leading to shortcuts such as this.