“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand, is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
Galileo Galilei (The Father of Modern Science)

“The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.” - Carl Sagan

See The Galileo Gambit here

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/logical-take/202006/the-galileo-gambit-and-appealing-ignorance

"And for every genius who bucked the system and turned out to be right, there are a thousand that bucked the system and turned out to be wrong. If you disagree with the experts, statistically speaking, you are much more likely to be one of the Bozos. And disregarding all the times those who disagreed with the authorities turned out to be wrong, makes one guilty of even more fallacious reasoning: confirmation bias, availability error, and denying the evidence."

"Notice that he doesn’t say a single person can override the informed consensus of experts. He said it can override the authority of many. But what authority would Galileo have been talking about? Who said he was wrong? It wasn’t scientists. It was the church! He's talking about religious authorities. So what he is saying is that a bunch of people claiming something on authority alone (i.e., without evidence, because of tradition, or “because the Bible says so”) is not worth much. It can be easily overridden."

Thanks for that link. I don’t remember hearing that quote before today but it’s great, and so is the Sagan quote.
“For every scientist who contradicts the scientific consensus and is right, there are 1,000 who are wrong.” That’s a great quote
And the list of current people employing Galileo’s Gambit, creationists and climate deniers.

So was Lenny Da Vinci the mother of modern science, or the grandfather?

And Lenny of Pisa, aka Fibonacci, who started modern European math beat them both by a couple of centuries.

It depends on the individual.

That reminds me of two of the 10 commandments from Bertrand Russell:

4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavor to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.

5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.