In a post published two weeks ago, I commented on an article in Science News that tried to answer this question: which were the ten most important scientific discoveries of the last century? Some of my readers asked what is my personal opinion. This is my answer.
To begin with, I will point out that
scientific research can advance in four different ways:
- Theoretical science, which tries
to discover fundamental laws in the universe.
- Experimental science, which confirms
or falsifies theories by carrying out experiments.
- Observational science, which
instead of experimenting, observes. Astronomy, for instance, uses these
methods, as experimentation is almost never possible.
- Technology, the practical application of science, whose goal is to build devices that work.
