Introduction xiii
Not so with discoveries. Einstein’s theory of relativity produced no new products,
practices, or concepts that affect our daily life. Neither did Kepler’s discovery of the elliptical orbits of the planets around the sun. The same is true of Alfred Wegener’s discovery that
the continents drift. Yet each represents a great and irreplaceably important advance in our
understanding of our world and of the universe.
I had three main purposes in shaping and writing this book:
1.
To present key scientific discoveries and show their impact on our thinking and
understanding.
2.
To present each discovery within the continuum of scientific progress and development.
3.
To show the process of conducting scientific exploration through the context of
these discoveries.
It is interesting to note that the scientists who are associated with these 100 greatest
science discoveries have more traits and characteristics in common than do those associated with the 100 greatest science inventions (see my book by that title, Libraries Unlimited, 2005). The scientists listed in this book—those who have made major science
discoveries—in general excelled at math as students and received advanced degrees in
science or engineering.
As a group they were fascinated by nature and the world around them. They felt a
strong passion for their fields of science and for their work. They were often already established professionals in their fields when they made their grand discoveries. Their discoveries tend to be the result of dedicated effort and creative initiative. They got excited about
some aspect of their scientific field and worked hard, long hours with dedication and inspiration. These are impressive men and women we can hold up as model scientists, both fortunate in their opportunities and to be emulated in how they took advantage of those
opportunities and applied both diligence and honesty in their pursuit of their chosen fields.
It is also amazing to consider how recent many of these discoveries are that we take for
granted and consider to be common knowledge. Seafloor spreading was only discovered 50
years ago, the existence of other galaxies only 80 years ago, the existence of neutrons only
70 years ago. Science only discovered the true nature and behavior of dinosaurs 30 years
ago and of nuclear fusion only 50 years ago. The concept of an ecosystem is only 70 years
old, That of metabolism is also only 70 years old. Yet already each of these concepts has
woven itself into the tapestry of common knowledge for all Americans.
I had to devise some criteria to compare and rank the many important science discoveries since I had literally thousands of discoveries to choose from. Here are the seven criteria I
used:
1.
Does this discovery represent truly new thinking, or just a refinement and improvement of some existing concept?
2.
What is the extent to which this discovery has altered and reshaped scientific direction and research? Has this discovery changed the way science views the
world in a fundamental way? Has it radically altered or redirected the way scientists think and act?