There was a failure to recognize the deep problems in AI; for instance, those captured in Blocks World. The people building physical robots learned nothing.
We must see that music theory is not only about music, but about how people process it. To understand any art, we must look below its surface into the psychological details of its creation and absorption.
General fiction is pretty much about ways that people get into problems and screw their lives up. Science fiction is about everything else.
I cannot articulate enough to express my dislike to people who think that understanding spoils your experience... How would they know?