I can compare science in the past with the present, if you ask me, of course I will answer that people in the past were much smarter than people today, because the people of the past were not discouraged in pursuing knowledge or seeking information even though they had to struggle with many limitations
Easy to get information, sometimes many abuse it in today's times.
Exactly, the world seemed to have a different conception of living and seeking knowledge, which today is not as eager.