They dismantle complacency in the old and make people aware of foolish assumptions that have previously been taken for granted. Much of what Revolutionaries create is a polar opposite of what preceded them. Often, they naively accept the new assumptions without understanding the necessity or background of the previous war. Utilizing forms from both the old and the new, Groundbreakers have the freedom to create truly new things built on totally new assumptions. Like Hegel's dialectic, these categories are artificial since there are no real delineations between adapters, revolutionaries and groundbreakers.
Many people innovate in all three spaces.
The last great philosophical shift of this magnitude that reflects these three types of innovators occurred during the Enlightenment that ushered in the Modern Age when people replaced a theistic worldview with a modern worldview. The previous theistic worldview had assumed that events were caused by the gods and could be understood and interpreted through the religious leaders. The new modern worldview that emerged assumed that events were caused by natural laws and could be understood through the senses and logical inquiry. Great Britain adapted and set in place a limited monarchy that, over time, became a figurehead monarchy. France, on the other hand, experienced a dramatic, idealistic and bloody revolution.