The exponential increase in the computing power of integrated circuits is a testimony to that. But there are also what Thomas Kuhn has called "paradigms" in scientific research. Sometimes, regardless of the shape of the development curve, we end up turning around and around in circles within the same box. That's the political side of scientific research. A close study of Galileo's life is instructive in this regard. I highly recommend "Galileo, Courtier" by Mario Biagioli. Our main limiting factor is not human imagination but political and economic considerations.