I believe amateurs can definitely contribute to science because advancements in knowledge often come from remixing existing ideas or incrementally improving som

I believe amateurs can definitely contribute to science because advancements in knowledge often come from remixing existing ideas or incrementally improving something. I contend that the guy who built obstacle courses for squirrels in his backyard and shared it could be advancing science by inspiring a biologist to explore how animals solve problems. There IS a certain amount of creativity required in science because you have to be able to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is nothing but an idea - and the best ideas tend to come from people who are exposed to a lot of things that they can draw from.