Intelligence and planning are necessary factors in scientific research, however chance and luck are also important and somewhat necessary factors. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin and the memoir, The Double Helix, written by James Watson, prove this assertion. Charles Darwin, James Watson and Francis Crick were all intelligent men that planned their experiments, however without chance and luck their success and scientific achievement would not be as great.
Intelligence and planning are important in scientific discovery, but are not always the dominating forces that drive scientific research. Such is the case with Charles Darwin, James Watson and Francis Crick. All three of these men were extremely intellectual, but their intellect only contributed partially to their success. Intellect and planning, combined with chance and luck contributed to their overall success.
People take chances on a daily basis. If you actually stop and think about it, life is one big game of chance.
English: Caricature of Charles Darwin from Vanity ...
Photograph of Charles Darwin by Maull and Polyblan...
Maclyn McCarty (June 9, 1911, to January 2, 2005) ...It is by chance that we are born, that we continue to survive, and that we will eventually die. Some people feel that this cycle occurs do to the will of God, others, like Charles Darwin believe that it happens based on chance or natural selection. Whatever you believe or disbelieve, life cannot be planned. No matter how hard a person attempts to 'plan' their path in life, it is by chance and luck where that path takes us.
Darwin's career was also based on chance, not planning. Darwin never planned to become a scientist or the father of natural selection. It was by pure chance that he obtained the job on the voyage of the Beagle, which started his career. Darwin stated about this voyage that, 'The voyage of the Beagle has been the by far the most important event in my life and has determined my...