As you've probably noticed, ther's an awful lot of science about these days: cars,phones,weapons of mass distruction, toothpaste - it would be very different world without it. And, of cource, everyone knows about famous scientists, their mind-blowing experiments and discoveries...
Yes! Exactly! Except they didn't actually do any of those things. The things they did were much more amazing...
Another thing about dead famous scientists is that most of them didn't call themselves that most of them didn't call themselves that - the word scientists was only invented in 1833. What we think of as science - laboratories full of large-brained people, mathematics that makes your brain explode, gigantic machines that go 'Hmmmmm'- only really got going in the nineteenth century.
Before that, science was only done by a few peoplewith enquiring minds and time on their hands. Even though they took science seriously and knew it would one day give humanity the key to the universe, most of their mates thought they were a little bit odd.
Though being a scientist is new, modern science is really just a well organised way of doing something which people have been trying to do for thousands of years - explain the Universe, how it works and where it comes from. Many civilizations didn't get much further than saying, "God did it"and adding, änd don't ask how or we'll burn you alive'.
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