This does represent a very appealing theory – a cyclical process that looks much like a wave processing from node to node – no beginning and no ending – no awkward question about what came before, just wait long enough and the answers will all come to you (very Zen) 🙂
It is a pity that the big science research grants seem to follow the dramatic, spectacular route, and it would be nice to see more resources being applied to plan B and plan C.