There is an expression in the Wasteland: "Old World Blues."
It refers to those so obsessed with the past they can't see the present, much less the future, for what it is.
They stare into the what-was, eyes like pilot lights, guttering and spent, as the realities of their world continue on around them.
Science is a long, steady progression into the future. What may seem a sudden event often isn't felt for years, even centuries, to come.