Abstract

The gene is one of the most fundamental concepts in life sciences, having been developed in the mold of the Mendelian paradigm of heredity, which shaped genetics across 150 years. How could Mendel possibly be so prophetic in the middle of 19th century, using only the small garden of the monastery as his experimental breeding field? I believe that we are indebted to Mendel's mastery of the scientific method, which was far ahead of his time. Although his experimental technology was literally garden‐variety, Mendel's excellence in the method of science, algebra, and logical analysis helped him in designing the right experiment and in interpreting the results insightfully. This may be valuable to recall in today's technology‐focused culture, where the center of interest tends to be on the generation and description of high‐throughput datasets from specialized genomics screens. As Mendel's story suggests, progress in 21st century genetics may also depend on the development of robust concepts and generalizations.