"Perhaps the methods I needed to complete the proof would not be invented for a hundred years. So even if I was on the right track, I could be living in the wrong century"

This quote by Andrew Wiles speaks to the problem of clinical development. He is suggesting that even if he had the ideal idea, he may not have had the tools to prove it. This speaks with the idea that scientific development is typically incremental, and that the right idea might not have the ability to be shown up until the right tools are readily available. Wiles is recommending that even if he was on the best track, he might have been living in the incorrect century, as the techniques he required to finish the evidence may not have actually been developed for another a century. This quote speaks with the significance of timing in clinical development, and how even the most dazzling minds may not have the ability to make progress up until the right tools are offered.