The problem is that outside the field of mathematics, challenging the orthodoxy worked up an angry mob and they probably torched the person's house before it could be worked out.
But OTOH you see many people in other disciplines challenging the orthodoxy (in Physics: string theorists, MOND proponents, etc.) and while their views aren't always taken fully serious, their houses aren't being torched either.
You can put air quotes around sciences if it helps make my point any clearer.
In another context, I recall long conversations between different physical anthropologists in a forum about one person's unorthodox belief that humans' closest common ancestor is shared with the orangutan, not the chimpanzee. While there was some occasional irritation, for the most part the conversations were civil, and informative, because the person who held this view was very knowledgeable about the field.