Assuming we understand by "modern science" what Galileo called "scientia nuova" (however that is spelled in Italian). That is, the science that was born in the late XVI or early XVII centuries in Europe and which was based on observation and repeated experimentation, on collecting lots of measurments and numerical data and then formulating equations and mathematical models that describe nature (and can be used, under some circunstances, to predict what would happen given an initial set of conditions.
In this scense, I see this modern science as a modern European phenomenon. Other peoples, like the Ancient Greeks, the Arabs in the X or XI centuries, or the Indians came close, but didn't achieve this. Some of the ancient Greek, for example, developed accurate ideas about how the universe works. But these were rarely set in a mathematical model nor were they put to test, so it was almost impossible to distinguish the ideas corresponded to reality from those who didn't.
The question is, what was the role played by modern science in European world dominance? When, if ever, did it begin to matter? I mean, the Precolumbian civilization were conquered before modern science, and I don't think it played a significant rol in Napoleons brief success against the Memeluks or in British success in India around 1800. I've read somewhere that the invention of the steam engyne hadn't much to do with science, that it was more a practical thing, and that termodinamical laws were invented after trains and steam machines were already invented. Is that so? If so, when did science begin to matter? Could an industrial revolution take place in a world without modern science?
In this scense, I see this modern science as a modern European phenomenon. Other peoples, like the Ancient Greeks, the Arabs in the X or XI centuries, or the Indians came close, but didn't achieve this. Some of the ancient Greek, for example, developed accurate ideas about how the universe works. But these were rarely set in a mathematical model nor were they put to test, so it was almost impossible to distinguish the ideas corresponded to reality from those who didn't.
The question is, what was the role played by modern science in European world dominance? When, if ever, did it begin to matter? I mean, the Precolumbian civilization were conquered before modern science, and I don't think it played a significant rol in Napoleons brief success against the Memeluks or in British success in India around 1800. I've read somewhere that the invention of the steam engyne hadn't much to do with science, that it was more a practical thing, and that termodinamical laws were invented after trains and steam machines were already invented. Is that so? If so, when did science begin to matter? Could an industrial revolution take place in a world without modern science?