The idea that a lone polymath experimenting in his basement, a la Ben Franklin or James Maxwell, could make a genuinely important scientific discovery, disappea

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 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.