Maths doesn’t make an exact parallel but certainly fits in with my worldview. Lets say you view advanced physics as essentially a subfield of maths which is not that much of an exaggeration given how mathematical string theory etc is. If a sub field gets a lot of attention like physics has then it gets pushed along the diminishing returns curve faster. That means such single person discoveries would be much harder in physics than a given field of mathematics. The surface area of all mathematics is greater than that of just mathematical physics so that is exactly what you would predict. Individual genius mathematicians can take a field that has been given less attention—the distance from beginner to state of the art is less than that for physics. They can then advance the state of the art.
Maths doesn’t make an exact parallel but certainly fits in with my worldview. Lets say you view advanced physics as essentially a subfield of maths which is not that much of an exaggeration given how mathematical string theory etc is. If a sub field gets a lot of attention like physics has then it gets pushed along the diminishing returns curve faster. That means such single person discoveries would be much harder in physics than a given field of mathematics. The surface area of all mathematics is greater than that of just mathematical physics so that is exactly what you would predict. Individual genius mathematicians can take a field that has been given less attention—the distance from beginner to state of the art is less than that for physics. They can then advance the state of the art.