When pondering progress in physics, do not underestimate the role of technological progress and the impact that has on experimental evidence, which are at the h

When pondering progress in physics, do not underestimate the role of technological progress and the impact that has on experimental evidence, which are at the heart of all grest theories. These would not have been dreamt up without certain experimental data as the starring point for a new explanation. Quantum mechanics required the weirdness of the blackbody radiation spectrum to spring to life. The special theory of relativity is based on the observation that the Maxwell equations are not Galileo invariant and the results of their strange Lorentz invariance can be observed. The general theory of relativity is baed on the realization that despite efforts to measure a difference, inertial mass and gravitational mass always have the same value. It took time for these things to become measurable and to make people go "hmmm..." and think about nature in new ways. The answers are creative and genial, but they required starting points. And creating those takes time.