There are probably 5-10 scientists in every generation, going back to the time of Aristotle. The rest are rote-educated, crowd-following yahoos.
Engineers... now that’s a different story. But actual scientists? I wonder if we have a full 10 today.
Generalization alert...
Engineers are paid to design, invent, produce... if they don't do those things, they are out of a job. (I say that as a lifelong engineer.)
Scientists are paid to research stuff. They don't have to produce a damn thing, and the research may be just as well funded as if they did. It's all about getting the next grant, and getting their grad students to write papers for them about their research. To say the pursuit of grant money biases their research is like saying that the air biases their breathing.
I have great respect for true scientists. As you say, they are few and far between.
Today's grant mooches? Not so much...