Can't believe they didn't cite/discuss the book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962) written by philosopher of science, Thomas Kuhn. From the wikipedia article about the book:
"Kuhn challenged the then prevailing view of progress in "normal science". Normal scientific progress was viewed as "development-by-accumulation" of accepted facts and theories. Kuhn argued for an episodic model in which periods of such conceptual continuity in normal science were interrupted by periods of revolutionary science. "
In the paper (see Sci-Hub link comment elsewhere):
Philosophers and historians have long debated the extent to which the pragmatic success of a scientific theory determines how quickly it gains adherents, or its longevity (e.g., Kuhn [1970], Laudan [1977], and their many detractors).
"Kuhn challenged the then prevailing view of progress in "normal science". Normal scientific progress was viewed as "development-by-accumulation" of accepted facts and theories. Kuhn argued for an episodic model in which periods of such conceptual continuity in normal science were interrupted by periods of revolutionary science. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Structure_of_Scientific_Re...