I don't know if it was always an individual pursuit. Science has always needed lots of people to make theoretical advancements into practical ones, for example. But honestly I mostly agree with you here. The people who could resist the tide of social ignorance used to be our heroes
I think all advancements have periods of societal growing pains. The phone and social media are no different. It always looks like the end of the world to every generation experiencing it
I worked in biotech and we had a magnetic stirring hot plate that I would sit flasks on to stir chemicals with. Not only would that thing yield the most satisfying vortexes, but usually I was mixing a water with a clear liquid that was denser. The resulting swirls and liquid dynamics were even more satisfying than the vortex imo