What is the role of imagination in the sciences?

Imagination is often associated with the art area of knowledge, but it's crucial in the natural sciences as well. Imagination is important for generating a research question, creating a hypothesis, designing an experiment, interpreting the results and publishing the conclusions. To formulate a question the scientist needs to either have an original idea or take a theory that they wish to test. Creativity is needed to find connections and inspiration when an original question is desired, imagination helps reach across from what is accepted into the unknown. With the question, the researcher must develop a hypothesis based on their subject and the infered and researched properties it entails. The design of the lab also needs a good amount of imagination in order to succeed. Even if you're using a common procedure, you will need to problem solve. Science isn't easy, almost anything you attempt will fail on the first time, requiring you to work out new steps and solutions to fit your case. Even after you have the results, they need to be interperated. Finding the applications and worth of your data can be difficult and requires easy thought transfers and an open mind. To then share that with the public means breaking it down and presenting it in a visually engaging way. Those without creativity will never have breakthroughs in science, they'll be too busy reading lab manuals.
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Unit Question
How similar is faith in the order of the universe to faith in religion.

At its best, religion serves as a conduit for hope, comfort and acceptance. It's something that people can turn to when they are at their lowest to find solace. This blind trust in a percevied deity can change lives and rule them. For some people, the natural proceedings are enough to lead them, trust in the order of the universe can almost be considered as well. Religion is a vast cover of all the sects, types, branches and groups with both different and similar beliefs. Similarly, people have different views on how the universe works and how it affects us. Truly, there isn't a clear divide. Religious zealots do believe in the order of the universe, they just see a different universe where the "order" is all defined by a God or gods. Their universe may just be a collection of stars, planets and earth that interact according to God's will. So called "natural" phenomena are conduits of his direction rather than just elements that have been defined with no supernatural help. The only difference is that those who have no religious convictions still believe in the function of the universe. Even if they see everything as chaos, chance and entropy, they have a belief regarding how it works and how it affects them. No one can completely seperate themself from any sort of personal idea regarding how things work.
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Linking Question