My favorite part of reading Knuth and Martin Gardner has been how much they cite others.
That is the field has always had a lot of people with ideas. Selecting for the best communicators is limiting. Especially if they do self promotion.
So, where are the big names? Out doing work, most likely. Most of it work that won't go anywhere. The barrier to entry impact has risen, after all. Even as participation barriers have dropped. I say this as someone that probably would not be participating years ago.
That is the field has always had a lot of people with ideas. Selecting for the best communicators is limiting. Especially if they do self promotion.
So, where are the big names? Out doing work, most likely. Most of it work that won't go anywhere. The barrier to entry impact has risen, after all. Even as participation barriers have dropped. I say this as someone that probably would not be participating years ago.