In any field of endeavour, it is impossible to make a significant contribution without first being strongly influenced by past achievements within that field.

The world is advancing daily in every field and the past achievements play a significant role in the new discoveries being made worldwide. The people working in any field of endeavour are motivated by the formers of that particular field. As the great scientist Newton said, ”We make progress on the shoulder of our formers.”

In addition, without the study of the past achievements in a field we simply cannot learn about the fundamental knowledge and technology of that field and without the fundamental knowledge and technology how can we make a significant contribution in that field? We can make endeavour in the further research in the areas not thoroughly studied by the formers. In this way we can make new discoveries by studying their concepts and applying their principles in a more efficient way. For example, Einstein’s relative theory is based on Newton’s classic mechanics theory. To see the microbial world more clearly the scientists made the electronic microscope which was able to offset the shortcoming of the optical microscope.

I think that the skepticism in the people plays an important role in the innovations. The skeptic nature of the great scientists was the main reason of their success. They had that positive frame of mind and reasonable attitude toward their work.

Moreover, being strongly influenced by the past achievements does not mean indulging in the past world and lacking innovation. One should study the principles of the field and bring them in practice with their innovative application. For instance, the scientists grasped the principle of base complement and brought it into practice which led to the discovery of PCR technology, which is implemented worldwide in the research of life sciences. With the further research in the PCR technology RAPD, RT-PCR, DNA fingerprinting technologies were discovered.

However, the people should not be too superstitious about the past achievements, they should be optimistic while working in any field. This will help to boost their confidence and will eventually help in accomplishing their goals.