I don't believe that at all. A good idea, no matter how good or how far ahead of its time it was, would've eventually been thought up by someone else.
Look at jet engines, for example. You could say if someone hadn't had that great idea, we'd still be tooting around on prop-jobs and the space program probably would not have happened. But, at least three different nations were developing jet propulsion
completely independently at the same time toward the end of WWII. So, there is a natural flow of technological advancement regardless of who furthers it.
A few exceptions to be noted are those like Albert Einstein, Steven Hawking, and their company in the greatest minds to ever appear in physics. It takes a different way of looking at things to come up with the proofs that they have. But, in time, we would've figured all of that out too, just like we'll figure everything out eventually.
As long as we don't destroy ourselves first.
Regarding the slide show, it just reminds me how cool space really is. The last slide is like OMFG.
.....Only a popular one
