Deep Caves and Backyards

Great discoveries can be made not by exploring the deepest caves and the highest mountains, but by investigating and observing the world around us. Some of the greatest discoveries, such as Archimedes eureka moment when he discovered the Archimedes Principle, we're found by observing everyday details. As with Newton and his dicovery of gravity, the most fundamental information can come from just observing simple life. Leonardo da Vinci, famous for the Mona Lisa also spent a great deal observing everything around him, enabling him to make amazing inventions way beyond his time, such as his flying contraption.

The story of how Archimedes proves that discoveries can be made by observing little details. The story of how Archimedes and the Golden Crown is one we were told as children. King Heiron II of Sicily gave a jeweler a bar of gold and told him to make a crown. When the king received his crown however, he suspected that the jeweler substituted some of the gold with a cheaper metal and pocketed the excess gold. The king asked Archimedes to verify whether the crown was genuine or not. While Archimedes was taking a a bath, he noticed that the objects in the bathtub was displacing some of the water. He observed that the object displaced the same mass of water as the object. With this sudden epiphany, legend has it that Archimedes ran out of the washroom, wet and naked yelling "Eureka!". Although perhaps Archimedes never ran out of the washroom naked, it was the observation of simply water being displaced that allowed Archimedes to discover the Archimedes principle.

Another legend of a discovery made by observing simple everyday details is the story of how Isaac
Newton discovered gravity. One day, when Newton was sitting under an apple tree at his mother's
house, an apple fell on his head. He began questioning why the apple always fell down words. After
more contemplation, he concluded that the apple wasn't falling downwards but drawn to the Earth's

core. He then connected this with celestial bodies, such as the moon, sun and stars and realized that
everything draws other objects, or has a gravitational pull. Because of the simple observation of an
apple falling down a tree, Newton was able to discover one of the most important discoveries in
science.

Leonardo da Vinci was a man who liked questioning the world around him, from why thunder lasted longer than lightening to why the sky was blue. Through observing corpses of animals, he was able to see exactly how the muscles moved and how each body system interacted with each other. He also
studied birds and aerodynamics, buying then freeing birds to study them in flight. He also studied bats, for the wings of his designs resembled bats. wings, with pointed ends, like bats. In his notes, he also mentioned that he studied kites and their flight as well. Through these observations, he was able to create the base of airplanes and helicopters, a huge breakthrough in human history.

Although some may argue that Darwin created the theory of evolution by exploring the Galápagos Islands, observing what is around us can provide us with important information as well. Deep caves may be a source of human history, but through nature, we can find much more answers that can help the development of human beings. Through observing nature, we now have electricity, the SpecialRelativity  theory and more. The greatest discoveries are sometimes not found by exploring the unknown and going to extreme places, but right under our noses hidden from plain sight. Perhaps the nest great discovery will be in your backyard.