That's because math is fundamentally arbitrary. This realization came to me late in life. Math was always presented as some aspect objective reality. However over time I've come to understand it as software for human brain. Using this math or that to describe something is often simply a matter of taste! Very similar to programming, in fact. Your study of history gives context to the question of utility different maths "packages" for certain problems, but does not invalidate your original impression.
I think "arbitrary" gives the wrong flavor here. Math is fundamentally curated.
It's easy to create something new, because you get to play with the rules - but unless it is in some sense deep, effective, and usually elegant [1] it won't stick around.
That's because math is fundamentally arbitrary. This realization came to me late in life. Math was always presented as some aspect objective reality. However over time I've come to understand it as software for human brain. Using this math or that to describe something is often simply a matter of taste! Very similar to programming, in fact. Your study of history gives context to the question of utility different maths "packages" for certain problems, but does not invalidate your original impression.