This is the method by which modern science understands the universe.
Smash it and count the pieces.
Take those pieces and smash em. Count the pieces.
Notably, the scientists of modern science tend not to focus their investigations in the reverse direction. Some do though, but not prominently.
Many seem to avoid for example the cause of the electromagnetic force and the cause of the other three fundamental forces.
Oh boo hoo.
The scientific method is science. This one particular approach is just one of many.