Analysis means literally to break a complex problem down into smaller, more manageable "independent" parts for the purposes of examination — with the hope that solving these smaller parts will lead to a solution of the more complex problem as well. Although taken for granted as a method of advancing understanding today, this is a relatively recent and important invention of humankind; however, it should be noted that roughly parallel concepts within mathematics and logic go back beyond Aristotle. It has been variously ascribed to Descartes (from his "Discourse on Method"), Galileo and Newton as a practical method of physical discovery, and was quite surprising to their contemporaries.