I'm not sure I agree about the point of a certain space and endeavor getting exhausted and the pickings too slim to be elevated upon progress wise. Essentially this exit from a crowded space into a sparse and less competitive spaces makes me think about the hyperspecialization in academia. When everything becomes pretty fragmented everyone can claim to be an expert in some niche area unmoored from demand and usefulness. But if its fragmented out to an island no one wants to visit there's little value in that too even if it has the widest potential for social capital to be mined. That new field whatever it may be still has to attract enough folks to get a sport going in the first place, even if it's just reactionary to rally up a revolt and teardown what came before. At the end what's lacking is that absolute point of reference.