---
date: "2024-10-31T02:48:28Z"
categories:
  - linkedin
description: "Most scientific discoveries are shaped by their era, but a few exceptional breakthroughs seem driven mainly by the individual rather than the historical moment."
keywords: [scientific discovery, history of science, person vs time, Newton, Einstein, biology]
---

Are scientific discoveries more a product of the person or their time?

It's usually their time, but in my conversation with ChatGPT, I found four that were mostly person-driven:

1. Newton's laws of gravitation
2. Einstein's general relativity

I knew these. Both were far ahead of their times. In contrast, Newton's laws of motion and Einstein's special relativity weren't.

3. McClintock's discovery of Transposable Elements: genes that can turn physical characteristics on and off. Her work was dismissed for decades.
4. Mullis' invention of the PCR that makes billions of DNA copies rapidly. Other scientists were using very different methods.

I didn't know these. Both are in biology - a rapidly advancing field.

Time to learn. What do YOU think are the biggest discoveries in the biological sciences lately?

PS: Here's the ChatGPT link: https://chatgpt.com/share/6722ec5e-56b8-800c-b869-3c09f10ad685

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3Ashare%3A7257584180090265601)