The idea of an
In 1962 physicist and historian of science
+
Little science, according to Price, encompassed the whole period of
+ scientific activity that occurred prior to the
+
Big science, characterized by ambitious and highly complex research + conducted by large numbers of scientists and carried out with the + support of institutions like universities and governments, emerged in + the 20th century. Though government-funded research did increase + throughout the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution as + the possible applications of scientific research became increasingly + ambitious, 20th century projects like the space race and the Manhattan + Project exemplify the world-changing technology that big science was + built to produce.
+The emergence of big science changed many things about the way + scientific knowledge was produced, and those changes have had lasting + impacts. Price argued that the extensive institutionalization of + science through the 20th century created the conditions for the + current paradigm of scientific advancement, in which the boundaries of + scientific knowledge expand incrementally through the accumulation of + isolated discoveries, rather than through the emergence of + paradigm-shifting theories.
+The central role that the government and private industry play in + funding big science, and the vast bureaucracy that allocates that + funding, have led to a scientific process that is more hierarchical + and less autonomous than the scientific process of previous eras. + These dynamics are exacerbated by the increasingly arduous standards + set by academic institutions and journals that all players in the + field must meet in order to participate in mainstream science.
+Despite these challenges, a devoted lineage of amateurs have
+ continued to expand their fields from outside of the academy. In the
+ last 60 years, new pathways have emerged for interested amateurs to
+ contribute to large-scale scientific projects, and many have found
+ ways to dialogue with professional scientists in their field. Recent
+ developments in technology and increased access to scientific
+ knowledge have spurred several movements calling for a more
+ transparent and democratic scientific paradigm.
This article features original research on patents, interviews with
+ case study subjects, and discussion of secondary sources such as the
+
“Science” in the modern sense refers both to an agreed-upon body of + knowledge about the world, and to the distinct set of practices by + which that knowledge is created. The concept of the scientific method + is now so synonymous with the idea of science that it might be + confusing to think of the activities of pre-modern researchers and + natural philosophers as “science”, especially as they overlap with + epistemological systems now considered to be unscientific, such as + astrology, theology, and alchemy. But curious people have been doing + some version of science, i.e., discovering new things about the world + and using these discoveries to solve practical problems, since the + formation of the earliest civilizations.
+The modern version of the scientific method was established a few
+ hundred years ago during the scientific revolution, but some of its
+ component parts date back to the emergence of
+
This approach was inherently interdisciplinary. Natural + philosophers were attempting to answer big, existential questions + using all the tools they had at their disposal, and the bodies of work + produced by these scholars were often wide-ranging and heterogenous, + drawing on direct observation, religious texts, mathematics, + intuition, folk wisdom, and formal logic.
+Plato’s discovery of the deductive method was central to the
+ development of science as we now know it, and laid the groundwork for
+ his student Aristotle, who completed the earliest known formal study
+ of logic in history,
+
Aristotle joined Plato’s Academy when he was 17 or 18 and stayed
+ in Athens until his late 30s. After leaving Athens he traveled,
+ including a trip with one of his students to the isle of Lesbos,
+ where they studied the animals, insects, plants, and environmental
+ conditions of two lagoons on the island, writing three books on his
+ theories of the origins of animals and their relationship to the
+ environment. He was invited back to Macedonia, his birthplace, to be
+ a tutor to the king’s son (who would go on to take the throne as
+ Alexander the Great), and later tutored two other future-kings,
+ Ptolemy and Cassander. Eventually he moved back to Athens and
+ established his own school, called Lyceum, where he taught courses
+ for the next 12 years. He is thought to have produced the bulk of
+ his body of work during that time
+ (
The fall of Rome in the 5th century distanced Western Europe from
+ the intellectual legacies of
+
Scientists of classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, though + amateurs, were usually educated, either as a student in a + philosopher’s school, a religious institution or, later on, at a + university. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the emergence of the first + European universities. These academic institutions mainly trained + students to become doctors, lawyers, or priests, but students were + also required to study grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, + astronomy, geometry, and music. The scientists of the Middle Ages + spent much of their time engaging in dialogue with scholars in a wide + range of disciplines, and most scientific progress before the 16th + century was achieved by individuals reading texts (and commentary on + those texts), and then conducting their own experiments and writing + their own books and commentaries in response.
+Since all science was being produced by “amateurs” rather than + professionals, once an aspiring scientist was educated they had to + find a way to support their research. Some were from wealthy or + aristocratic families, and so did their research alongside familial + and political obligations. Others took jobs at universities, or in the + government or church. And some found a patron who was willing to + support their work. Many pursued their interests independent of (and + sometimes directly against the wishes of) the institutions they were + embedded within.
+Eventually he found a patron to support his work. This patron
+ encouraged him to keep writing, but to keep his activities a secret.
+ As was typical of scientists of Bacon’s era, his work included
+ writing on a plethora of subjects including linguistics, morality,
+ empiricism, mathematics, optics, alchemy, astronomy, and how to
+ incorporate Aristotelian logic into theology
+ (
Of the many transformations which took place in the 15th century,
+ three of the most significant to the history of amateur science were
+ the invention of the
+
Many historians consider 1543 to be the beginning of the Scientific
+ Revolution. Two books published that year would set off an
+ unprecedented period of scientific development. One was
+
Scientific activity proliferated and scientific discoveries
+ accelerated rapidly over the next 100 years. In the mid-17th century,
+ amateur scientists formed scientific academies and societies.
+ Previously, scientific communication had largely happened privately
+ via letters, but meeting in person had several advantages: talking in
+ a group made it easier to keep up with the pace of discoveries, which
+ was becoming harder to do. And due to the increasing emphasis on the
+ empirical method, any experiment needed trustworthy witnesses to
+ confirm the results: the higher the status of the witness, the more
+ credible their testimony. The members of the more prestigious
+ academies felt a need to defend their positions as the arbiters and
+ able practitioners of the “new science”. Thus, participation in these
+ groups was limited to
+
Within a few years of their formation, the academies began to + collect and publish regular reports of the experiments they’d heard + about in their vast network of correspondents. These reports, which + were the precursor to the modern academic journal, were essentially a + scientific news service, certifying, broadcasting, and archiving news + about what was happening in the emerging scientific communities. These + publications also engaged the public, who began to take an interest in + scientific matters. Ironically, the publication of scientific journals + by these exclusive clubs likely had a hand in popularizing science and + whetting the public’s appetite to engage in scientific + experimentation. Though the members of scientific societies were also + amateurs – wealthy landowners or young urban bourgeoisie who + participated in science as a hobby – a hierarchy of amateurs was + emerging.
+Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, scientific societies spread
+ through Europe. As they gained social prominence, they became
+ increasingly exclusive, authoritative, and elite. The founding of the
+ prestigious
+
Government support for the “new science” in other nations, however, + was slow to emerge. Universities still largely adhered to religious + doctrine, and continued on with the curriculum that had been developed + in the Middle Ages. Private laboratories, gardens and museums formed + to give more structure to the activities of the societies, but science + remained largely in the purview of gentleman amateurs and their + patrons.
+The beginning of the 19th century was a lively time for the growing
+ community of middle and working class Europeans who had taken an
+ interest in science. New societies like
+
It was also a time of conflict, as amateur scientists began to push + back against the limitations that both governments and scientific + societies imposed. Amateur astronomers in France argued for a more + democratic approach to astronomy, allowing for wider public + involvement in research through activities like tracking meteor + showers, and amateur archaeologists in Germany, Prussia, and France + organized to protest legislation that required permits for + excavations, limiting the freedom to study ancient archaeological + sites.
+Trained scientists were also beginning to chafe against the + academies’ control over funding and the production of knowledge. + Societies like the British Association for the Advancement of Science + coordinated scientists nationwide and lobbied governments for funding + and recognition, attempting to transform science from an activity for + wealthy hobbyists to a government-funded professional institution + whose advances could be systematized and applied for the benefit of + society.
+Their petitions worked – increases in the institutional support for + science led to the creation of more technical schools, and to + government scientific agencies like geological surveys, physics labs + and health institutes. The first modern PhD programs, in which + professors were expected to train their students to produce + independent research while conducting their own research, were + established in Germany in the early 19th century. Scientific + disciplines continued to organize into specialized departments, + schools, and journals. By the late 19th century, most scientists + worked in academic or government settings, not as independent + gentlemen.
+The changes in scientific institutions that occurred in the 19th
+ century reflect the social and material transformations caused by the
+ Industrial Revolution. The stark and growing divisions between
+ socioeconomic classes and the miraculous possibilities of the machine
+ age that co-occurred initiated an ongoing public debate about social
+ inequality and the distribution of power and resources in society.
+ Many people saw science and technology as tools that could be used to
+ address social inequality, but opinions differed widely on the best
+ way to apply them
+ (
Over the previous 300 years, science had become indispensable to + the functioning of the modern world, but it had also become + increasingly tied to, and reliant on, political and economic power + structures. Throughout the 20th century scientific institutions became + increasingly intertwined with government and industry. Funding for + science in this period was abundant but increasingly focused on + applied research, which was becoming more specialized.
+The 20th century also witnessed the escalating influence of science + and industry on world events. The First World War intensified the + development of research to advance military capability, spurring + massive projects like the Manhattan Project for the atomic bomb and + later the space race, projects which proved instrumental in the + outcomes of World War II and the Cold War era, respectively. + Scientific research became a strategic imperative leveraged by + governments worldwide; many countries formally institutionalized + science as a national priority, establishing dedicated policy bodies + like the U.S. National Science Foundation in 1950.
+The growth of research in government, private and academic settings
+ accelerated the institutionalization of science, and led to a steady
+ decline in the popularity of amateur science. Our research into
+ worldwide patent applications over the course of the 20th century
+ illustrates this shift.
Worldwide patent applications classification (1910 -
+ 2023). Please scroll horizontally to see the full figure. Source:
+ WIPO Patentscope.
+
Relative proportion of worldwide patent applications classified by
+ research/company and solo inventor from 1910 to 2023. The data shows
+ an initial predominance of Solo Inventor patents and the steady
+ increase of Research/Company patents during the mid-20th century,
+ showing the professionalization of science. See
+
Though the scientific institutions of the 20th century had become + more open to women and ethnic minorities, amateurs were more + marginalized than ever. A few fields maintained a role for amateur + involvement: astronomers and naturalists in particular continued + making new discoveries in their fields, and tinkering with radio and + electrical systems in home workshops was a popular hobby for many + amateur inventors. But compared to professional scientists, amateur + research was given little credit or legitimacy during this period, and + the tools needed to conduct cutting-edge research in many fields were + totally inaccessible to the lay public
+Big science continued to expand through the second half of the 20th
+ century, but several social and political movements that focused on
+ the lack of public involvement in science policy forced scientific
+ institutions to accept more input from the public on research agendas.
+ The environmental movement, the anti-nuclear movement, and HIV/AIDS
+ activists all fought to create ways to involve the public in setting
+ priorities for scientific research and assessing the risks of new
+ technologies. These groups demanded more oversight over scientific
+ research, more public buy-in, more communication, and more decision
+ making power for the people impacted by new scientific products. AIDS
+ activists, for example, became well-versed in the drug development
+ process and successfully argued for changes to the FDA’s policies on
+ testing and distributing experimental treatments. They also demanded
+ changes to the conditions in which clinical tests were carried out,
+ lobbied the CDC to broaden the definition of AIDS to include symptoms
+ and outcomes that were more commonly diagnosed in women, and helped
+ found alternative research facilities such as Boston’s Community
+ Research Initiative (1987)
+ (
Though these movements failed to significantly alter the broader
+ structures underlying scientific establishments, they did serve to
+ empower amateurs and activists, giving rise to the citizen science
+ movement, a massive network of amateurs engaged in data collection and
+ analysis on a staggering scale. Amateur engagement through field
+ observation and data collection have existed for over a century,
+ particularly in the environmental sciences and astronomy, but the
+ development of digital technology in recent decades has made it
+ possible to efficiently collect and process data from tens of
+ thousands of citizen scientists, further expanding the possibilities
+ of big science. More recently citizen science has expanded into fields
+ like social science and health
+ (
This pseudonymous collective of scientists has been writing
+
When asked in an interview what kind of impact they hope to make + with their research, they wrote:
+We’d like science to be more diverse — more kinds of people, + doing more kinds of science, using more kinds of methods and + paradigms, in more kinds of communities and institutions, and + communicating their work in more and more different ways. We also + want to usher in a 21st century scientific revolution. Ambitious + research is possible, both inside and outside of institutions. + We’d like this to be our impact, but also it doesn’t really matter + since we think that at some level this is inevitable. Authority is + brittle, it requires constant attention — the natural state of + science is chaos.
+Seeds of Science believes in talent beyond university walls: The + journal aspires to be a hub for disenfranchised scientists and + individuals outside academia, facilitating collaboration, + mentorship, and publication. Despite hurdles such as conforming to + academic indexing standards and database inclusion, Seeds of Science + remains committed to its mission. The journal advocates for a more + inclusive and diverse scientific community, where unconventional + ideas and speculative research can flourish. By challenging + traditional gatekeeping mechanisms, they aspire to cultivate a + culture that values open inquiry and fosters the next generation of + innovative thinkers.
+Since the 1980s and the beginning of home computing, new + technologies have allowed amateurs to participate once again in many + scientific fields through large-scale crowdsourcing, citizen science + projects, and open online collaborations between amateurs and + professionals. It’s possible that we’re entering a new era, where the + new tools for collecting, storing, analyzing, and displaying data, and + for funding and publishing research make scientific research + accessible to the public in new ways. Many of these tools and + platforms have been created as a part of the Open Access and + Decentralized Science (or DeSci) movements.
+The Open Access movement began around 2000 with the goal of making + scientific knowledge more accessible to all. Early Open Access + pioneers created new journals that didn’t have paywalls, removing the + financial and institutional barriers that prevented non-professionals + from accessing new scientific literature. However, these publications + supplemented their lost income from subscriptions by instituting large + fees for authors and institutions, merely moving the cost of access to + the scientists and institutions looking to publish. A new movement, + known as Diamond or Platinum Open Access emerged in the 2010s, and + used institutional funding and volunteer labor to create publishing + platforms for scientific research that were free for both researchers + and readers.
+DeSci is a new set of methods for doing scientific research that
+ doesn’t rely on traditional centralized institutions like universities
+ or government labs. Instead, it leverages distributed networks, open
+ collaborations, and decentralized technologies to democratize access,
+ enable global participation, and facilitate peer-to-peer validation of
+ scientific claims and data. Desci aims to accelerate scientific
+ progress by removing barriers, increasing transparency, and
+ incentivizing contributions from a broader pool of researchers and
+ citizen scientists worldwide. It uses decentralized autonomous
+ organizations (DAOs), open science frameworks, and web3 technologies.
+ These decentralized blockchain-based protocols allow researchers to
+ self-organize into projects, validate each other’s work through peer
+ review, and get funding from distributed sources
+ (
Timeline of amateur science through history.
+
As we enter the 21st century, powerful new technological tools and + the emergence of innovations in the field of open science offer + amateurs perhaps the greatest opportunity since the Scientific + Revolution to directly participate in expanding the frontiers of + knowledge. Just outside the gates of big science, where scores of + professionals conduct their research under the purview of governments, + universities, and corporations, there are countless amateurs, + conducting their own research and contributing to the dream of a more + democratic, decentralized science.
+The dataset in
Below is a more detailed breakdown of the decision tree used for
+ classifying patents into
Decision tree for classifying patents.