Why science works, but not as quickly as you want it to...A scientific method is based on understanding. It is based on a model of what is, in fact, happening. That model, explicit or implicit, resides in the minds of the researchers working on the problem and in the tools they have at their disposal. There are often many levels to the model but they tend to form an interconnected whole. An important part of these models is embedded in research tools (assays, model organisms, technology, etc.) Rarely, two or three competing models exist and such a situation cannot persist for long. Most often, virtually all researchers more or less agree on a core model but differ on the details. There are always core dissidents, and occasionally it turns out they were right, but invariably they have little impact at the time. Since science is a collective activity dependent on many players, they also make little progress.
