I think to OPs comment, tinkers at the turn of the century were able to turn curious scientific discoveries into huge consumer product segments. Radio, film, automobiles, etc all basically grew out of hobbyists at home.

It seems like makers in general focus too much on self-reliance and making personalized goodies than actual creation.

I think the problem comparing to the last turn of the century is the cost of real innovation is much higher (ignoring that most “hobbyists” in that time period were quite affluent). A key difference would be that many foundational technologies were ripe for discovery then, but we are now in the optimization phase.

I don't want to sell cars or radios. I want to make the things I need for myself.

I realize my comment is way too terse to make sense to anyone other than myself, this should be a blog post!