Popular histories of science tend to celebrate lone geniuses: Newton under his apple tree, Einstein in the patent office, Curie in her makeshift laboratory. These stories are inspiring, and they capture something real about the role of individual insight. Nevertheless, the statement misrepresents how discovery has usually worked and, even more clearly, how it works today. I believe that while brilliant individuals remain essential, the most important discoveries increasingly depend on collaboration.

It is true that certain breakthroughs bear the stamp of a single mind. Einstein's special theory of relativity emerged from his own reconsideration of space and time, and it is difficult to imagine a committee producing such a radical reinterpretation. Individual scientists can pursue unfashionable ideas without needing to persuade colleagues, and some of the most original work has come from people working at the margins of established institutions.

Yet even celebrated individuals relied heavily on others. Newton famously wrote that he saw further by "standing on the shoulders of giants", and his work drew directly on Kepler and Galileo. The discovery of the structure of DNA is often attributed to Watson and Crick, but it depended crucially on Rosalind Franklin's X-ray images, which were produced in a different laboratory. What appears in retrospect to be individual genius is frequently the visible tip of a collective effort.

In modern science, collaboration has become not merely helpful but unavoidable. The detection of the Higgs boson in 2012 required thousands of physicists and engineers working at CERN, and the first image of a black hole in 2019 combined data from telescopes on several continents. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines similarly depended on decades of earlier research by many groups, combined with large international clinical trials. No individual, however brilliant, could have achieved these results alone.

This does not mean that individual brilliance has become irrelevant. Teams still need people who can see problems in new ways, and many collaborative projects begin with one person's unconventional idea. The most productive model, therefore, is one in which institutions protect space for individual creativity while providing the resources and networks that large discoveries now demand.

In conclusion, the image of the solitary genius is more myth than history. Important discoveries arise from the interaction between individual insight and collective effort, and the balance has shifted decisively toward collaboration. Recognising this is not merely a matter of historical accuracy: it affects how research is funded, how credit is shared and how young scientists are trained to work.

I disagree with the statement, because although some great discoveries were made by individuals, most important discoveries today are made by teams.

In the past, scientists like Newton and Einstein made huge discoveries mostly by themselves. Their ideas were very original, and this shows that individual talent is important in science.

However, modern science is very complicated and expensive. For example, large experiments in physics need hundreds of scientists and very expensive equipment, which no single person can manage. Medical research also needs many researchers to test new medicines on large groups of patients.

In addition, even famous individuals learned from other scientists before them, so their discoveries were not completely individual.

In conclusion, brilliant individuals are still important, but today most important discoveries come from teamwork because science has become too large and complex for one person. Universities and governments should therefore support both individual researchers and large research teams, since each plays a different role. Both are needed for progress.

I agree that brilliant people make the most important discoveries.

For example Einstein and Newton were very clever and they discovered many things alone. Teams have too many people and they argue so it is slow.

Brilliant people think different from normal people so they find new ideas.

So the most important discoveries are made by brilliant individuals not teams. Teams only help a little.