I would say a mathematical mind makes a huge difference in natural science whether or not you are doing any equations at the time or not. Probably since before

I would say a mathematical mind makes a huge difference in natural science whether or not you are doing any equations at the time or not. Probably since before the cave men or maybe even homo sapiens. Of course when equations do come up over the course of eons it could be even more helpful. And whenever there is a shortage of equations there's quite often been a need for somebody to step up to the plate and make some up ;)