The main reason that scientists' responses to this has changed over the years is the shrinkage of resources (against the number of scientists). In a field with

The main reason that scientists' responses to this has changed over the years is the shrinkage of resources (against the number of scientists). In a field with many interesting problems to work on, lots of research funding and many tenure track positions, the loss of one result will affect you much less -- especially if you're already famous and established. However, the situation today is much more cut-throat!