In this situation, direction is particularly important.
It's very possible that one direction may be smooth in the early and mid stages, only to prove untenable in the end; or a direction may face constant obstacles without progress in the early and mid stages, but once the bottleneck is broken, it leads to a bright future.
In the past few centuries, there have been instances of choosing the wrong path in technology, leading to many detours.
The most typical debate happened in the early 22nd century when humanity was preparing for space exploration: the battle between reactionless spaceship engines and reactionary spaceship engines.
Global scientists formed two equally matched factions.
On one side, the Conservative Faction believed in continuing the development of reactionary engines and undertaking a plan where fuel is supplemented step-by-step using gas planets during space travel.
