The surprising habits of original thinkers

I found the distinction between productivity and creativity interesting. The past few decades have seen great increases in productivity but many people have noticed a lack of innovation. Apparently this goes back to the seventies. Peter Thiel in a discussion somewhere mentioned that he thought this was coincident with and probably caused by the oil shocks of the 70s. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it could be better linked to the war on drugs that also started in those days.