From the transforming discovery of penicillin to the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, science progressed with mind-boggling speed even before there were computers. Much of this is down to the robustness of the scientific method: scientific results are validated by being replicated and extended by other scientists.
But the way we do science is changing—we now rely increasingly on complex computer models to understand nature. And it turns out that these models can be nearly impossible to reproduce—meaning an important touchstone of science is being challenged. So what are the real-world repercussions of this change and what can we do about it?
Pre-modern science—known as “natural philosophy”—was empirical. Empirical science uses past observations to make predictions about the future, which may then be tested. Tycho Brahe, a 16th-century Danish astronomer, managed to make accurate and comprehensive observations of the heavens in this way.
