The Method of Science

Abstract

In The Sign of Four, at the scene of a crime, Holmes says to Watson, ‘I want you not only to look but also to observe what has happened here.’ Observation needs to be careful and focused if clues are to be found as to who did it and how. Charles Darwin (1809–82) realised the value of careful observation and noted what others who were more learned missed. It led to the theory of evolution, which he thought explained the facts. The result was a discovery about our origins and development which disturbed and shocked the world. We have all seen apples falling from trees but few of us are like Isaac Newton (1642–1727), who, if the story is accurate, saw an apple fall and thought of the law of gravity.