[Last Visible Dog]

The scientific method (as we know it today) did not exist 500 years ago.

Utter nonsense.

The scientific method (Observe/Hypothesize/Conclude) was developed by the Greeks like 2200 years ago. The current scientific method (Observe/Hypothesize/Experiment/Conclude) was developed (credited to Redi) in 1600 which is pretty close to 500 years ago.

[RightWingNilla]

The scientific method (Observe/Hypothesize/Conclude) was developed by the Greeks like 2200 years ago.

The Greeks were much better thinkers than experimenters. They flirted with the scientific method a bit, but never realized its power.

[Virginia-American]

The scientific method (Observe/Hypothesize/Conclude) was developed by the Greeks like 2200 years ago.

Really? Care to give a citation? Which Greeks? What observations/theories etc from that period still stand? All I can think of are the spherical Earth and its size.

In particular, why did Aristotle claim that heavier things fall faster? Seems to me like he forgot the observe step.