Systems-of-systems-of-systems is a perspective challenge.
I suspect few, if any, have measured the noise floor on the neutral at their home or work site. Particularly, over multiple-time studies of more than 1 year.
There is much more worth learning about from DOE, ESRI, NRCC, IEEE (e.g. Greenbook) and the AFRLs have much more to offer.
Caeteris Paribus is deflective, at best. Quixotic still.
Between the GPR/EPR and then the neutral floor noise rise, the advance of the NIST-F2 clock integration, RF energy harvesting & distribution, more consumer DC appliances, EV charging stations...bucolic reminiscence will only provide more melancholy than fidelity.