It is commonly thought that original research is better if the study is recent. Some publications prohibit the citations of research older than 5 to 10 years. This is effectively an ongoing toll on knowledge. We can’t just rely on research already done. It is necessary to fund new research to maintain the same information. This certainly benefits universities, grant writers, professional researchers. This also allows us to rewrite history. We can can change the conclusions we don’t like by not asking the same question again.
It has been said that Einstein could give the same test to students a year later. When asked about this he said “The answers have changed”.