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Pretty much. The idea that a lone polymath experimenting in his basement, a la Ben Franklin or James Maxwell, could make a genuinely important scientific discov
by fl3tch 14y ago
Pretty much. The idea that a lone polymath experimenting in his basement, a la Ben Franklin or James Maxwell, could make a genuinely important scientific discovery, disappeared a long time ago. We're chasing the long tail of knowledge. Each increment will get harder, more complex and more expensive over time, and that's factoring in the technology that makes modern science so much easier and cheaper, or even possible.
If you wanted to sequence a piece of DNA in the 1980s (an entire genome was laughably out of the question), you would use Sanger's method and get a few hundred base pairs in a month. Maybe an entire gene in 3 months. Now we can sequence whole bacterial genomes or genotype a million SNPs in an afternoon, but gaining new, important knowledge is still much more expensive.
- jamesrcole 14y agoThe idea that a lone polymath experimenting in his basement, a la Ben Franklin or James Maxwell, could make a genuinely important scientific discovery, disappeared a long time ago As a general rule.... but it's not like we know it's impossible these days. Who's to say that a lone researcher won't come up with a startling simplification of physics? Maybe this won't ever happen. The point is we don't know, and it's not as certain as what your comment implies.
- anacrolix 14y agois that really a long tail? that suggests to me that there's very little left to be found. rather i'd suggest it takes exponentially more effort to procure further knowledge.
- tsotha 14y ago>The idea that a lone polymath experimenting in his basement, a la Ben Franklin or James Maxwell, could make a genuinely important scientific discovery, disappeared a long time ago. You could have said the same thing in 1900, eight years before the publication of the first paper on general relativity, arguably the most important advance in physics, ever, and something Einstein did independently. Tthe Einsteins and Maxwells of the world don't come along very often, and the fact that we haven't had one in awhile is more a reflection on that rarity than any characteristic of modern science.
- Mz 14y agoNot experimenting alone in my basement (and also not a drug discovery), but I have figured out how to get well with an incurable genetic disorder. So I can't say I agree with this sentiment. The issue I have is how to get the word out basically -- how to convince others I am not merely blowing smoke up their ass, how to present the info in an effective and useful fashion, how to get publicity and so on. So, no, yo aren't likely to read any headline news about my "discovery" any time soon. Makes me wonder how many other people have done something amazing on thei own but we aren't hearing about it. Peace.