[originaltext] Modern science began when mathematical models replaced abstra

Modern science began when mathematical models replaced abstract ideas as ways of explaining how the world works, and how we might harness nature to enhance human power over it. In Britain, scientific development reached its peak in the 17th century, during the period known as the "scientific revolution".
    By 1700 there were scientific institutions across Britain, and a commitment to science as the firm basis for success in commerce and industry. Britain’s rapid industrialization over the next century, and its domination of world trade, confirmed the importance of science in driving the economy.
    17th-century advances in microscopy, medicine, chemistry and biology and the development of precision instruments placed Britain in the forefront of specialist equipment-making. This kind of mass-produced new technology looked set to make the fortune of the inventor and patent-holder, and as a result, the smooth collaboration amongst members of the Royal Society was regularly marred by ugly priority and patent disputes. These indicate the growing tension between the "roup" model of science and the individual model.
    With the inevitable increasing professionalism of science, the success of the activities of the gentlemen amateurs who had founded the Royal Society looked increasingly irrelevant. However, the patterns of group activity, documenting and corroborating experimental results, and public dissemination of outcomes set lastingly important standards for scientific practice. In the long run, these standard protocols and procedures may turn out to have left a more lasting legacy than "iscoveries" made by individual scientist-members.