Poppa.....It wasn't all that long ago that the triples were the mark. Over time, triples became incorporated but had it not been for skaters like the "Two Brians" who incorporated them fluidly into their performances than we'd still be talking triples and not quads. If you go back to the time of say, Sonja Henie in the 20's or or Dick Button thirty years later, any double was miraculous.
It takes skaters out on the edge (or would that be edges) to advance anything. Without the athletic performances of them there would be stagnation. But more importantly and to offset all the quad hyperbole, it takes artistic skaters like Tuller Cranston a few years ago and Johnny Weir now to keep figure skating moving forward in that area as well. If you saw Johnny Weir's routine, he not only did triples and the like but he captured you. I guess you'd say he made a statement on the ice. I thought he was unfairly scored......but then scoring takes awhile to catch up too.