The story of Qin is a fascinating one.* We have an arrogance in
   our day that is easy to miss.* I constantly find myself up
   against my own bias in this regard:* Standardization in
   production was not invented in the 19th Century by a Gun maker
   and precision engineering does not require theories to be
   functional. Qin standardized weapons manufacturing to a level of
   precision hardly matched in the West for quite some time, in 200
   BC (one can say BCE or CE; matters not what one picks as long as
   the general time-frame is understood).* 2200 years ago. Was it
   science?* Was there a hypothesis that was tested and validated
   through repeated experiment?* Perhaps in a sense but I'd rather
   classify it a feat of engineering.* Happenstance, trial and
   error or science, when its engineering, it doesn't matter what
   the heuristics are, as long as the Boss is happy with the
   results. [having an Invisible Boss called TRUTH that won't
   execute you for making a mistake allows the Scientific Method to
   work quite well.* If you have a visible Boss with the ability to
   send your family into the mines if you screw up... well, that
   puts a strong time constraint on you: no time for Theory.* No
   time for Truth.* Just get the job done, however you can] I'm not
   discounting the scientific method; just a luxury once only
   afforded to Religious Scholars, but once power got into the
   hands of the non-Religious, the Academics were secularized and
   Pure Science, R&D became possible through a different set of
   exclusive circles. [those who could afford college tuition] In
   an earlier time, Einstein might not have been studying Patents
   as a Clerk (did one REALLY think he was daydreaming as he was
   going through those patents?* Of course he was reading them; I
   suspect it's how he broadened his thinking.* But the mythology
   of Einstein is a strong one, and Einstein, as much as I love
   him, knew well how to Spin the Media, the Brian Cox of his day,
   who I also find absolutely adorable (in a "tell me a story,
   uncle Brian" kind of way.* He makes me feel like a preschooler
   being tucked in, being told fantastic tales of the Universe by a
   favorite Uncle)... Anyway.. Einstein might have been in a
   Monastic environment, studying within the social structures of
   the day that afforded him the same kind of access to knowledge
   and such.* A Thomas Aquinas as it were, or a St Gregory Palamas
   from the Eastern Christian side. Everything I wrote could be
   shortened into two sentences.* But I don't like editing my own
   words.* Always seems to be a cruel affair, compressing away
   tidbits like that.