Answer: Mendel's methodology established a prototype for genetics that is still used today for gene discovery and understanding the genetic properties of inheritance.
Explanation: By experimenting with pea plant breeding, Mendel developed three principles of inheritance that described the transmission of genetic traits, before anyone knew genes existed. Mendel's insight greatly expanded the understanding of genetic inheritance and led to the development of new experimental methods. By simply counting peas and keeping meticulous notes, Mendel established the principles of inheritance, coined the terms dominant and recessive, and was the first to use statistical methods to analyze and predict hereditary information.