I'd rather say that good ideas keep on returning, no matter whether they are remembered or getting reinvented.
It's not that those who reapplied the old concept in new circumstances are not innovators; they are! Much like the guy who rearranged the well known thread, needle, and needle eye and invented the sewing machine, completely transforming the whole industry.
But seeing the old idea resurfacing again (and again) in a new form gives you that feeling of a wheel being reinvented, in a newer and usually better form, but still very recognizable.
It's not that those who reapplied the old concept in new circumstances are not innovators; they are! Much like the guy who rearranged the well known thread, needle, and needle eye and invented the sewing machine, completely transforming the whole industry.
But seeing the old idea resurfacing again (and again) in a new form gives you that feeling of a wheel being reinvented, in a newer and usually better form, but still very recognizable.