The Scientific Breakthrough of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

PRESUMABLY MAN'S INQUIRIES into himself and his surroundings began when men first appeared on the globe. Perhaps his attempts to learn could be considered as having begun even earlier in whatever form of animal life man's predecessors in the evolutionary progression may have been. In any event, there are many indications that man's acquisition of 'knowledge'l has been both slow and gradual, a prolonged process of accumulation by nearly infinitesimal increments. Lost in the mists of antiquity are those great successes in the conduct of inquiry that enabled man to use fire as a household convenience, to talk and later to write, to use the wheel, and to 'know' countless ways and means of doing what he wishes to do, ways and means that most of us today take for granted. We surmise that even such a great advance as writing must have been achieved gradually rather than suddenly, but that it marked one of the significant breakthroughs in man's learning behavior seems apparent. More recently and well within the range of recorded history man has achieved other significant breakthroughs. One frequently mentioned is the application of modern scientific method in the physical sciences as epitomized in the story of Galileo. Another is the application of similar methods of inquiry in the physiological sciences, where the work of Vesalius provides an outstanding example. Noteworthy is the fact that these more recent breakthroughs reflected great forward strides in the development and application of methods of inquiry. In fact, some skilled observers have insisted that the Galilean advance in particular was revolutionary in its effects on the conduct of inquiry in the physical sciences.2 In this twentieth century man once again has achieved a significant breakthrough carrying him beyond certain barriers of ignorance that have