I'll try to answer your last question. Society does not place great value on education, science, medicine or anything that deals with mental acumen. There was a time were people such as Charles Drew, Jonas Salk and others were placed in high regard. In the past several years, how much coverage was done for the Nobel prizes besides Peace? When was the last time you heard who won The National Spelling Bee? We as a society would rather watch or hear about someone who is dysfunctional & say "at least I'm not that bad!" that watch someone doing well and saying "I can be better!".
This not to say the athletes and those in the entertainment field weren't also in high regard but there seemed to be a balance.