Scientific Standstill?

Has anyone else wondered why we are not where we thought we might be with technological advancements? Looking back during the 80's with movies like Back to the Future, we were all so sure that we would have flying cars and instantaneous oven pizza by now. Why the slow down? Why are the only scientific and technological advancements of the last decade the ability to make existing technology smaller?

Is it because scientists have stopped dreaming? Fiction writers, from movie and television to novelists and fan-fictions, seem to be the only ones capable of coming up with an original thought. Maybe it is because scientists are afraid of dreaming. Scientists who question theories like Darwinism and Global Warming are often chastised and ridiculed before being laughed out of a grant application.

Maybe that is why: all funding comes from government entities. Look at Space travel. Space travel has long been a popular genre of fiction. Star Wars and Star Trek have been around since at least the 70's. Why have we not obtained the depth of space travel everyone dreams of? Is it because space is off limits to private entities, be it corporations or even citizens?

I'll leave you with this. It just seems to me that the truly exciting science, like space travel and medical cures, are completely untouched by a majority of the scientific community. However, if you want to know 50 different ways to get an erection, well that is information you can be sure scientists are hard at work at.