The Strange Decision of Faraday to Go to Science

In 1852, George Stokes discovered fluorescence in his hallway. So even by 1850, work was still being done in domestic context. Professional scientists didn't exist in the way that we would think professional scientists exist. There was an amateurism about it. All Faraday's work is directly towards understanding the world that God had created and using the laws of nature to benefit humankind. He wasn't wealthy at all actually. That's why his decision to go into science is so strange.