From the reactions of readers, I feel that first of all I need to explain what experimental approach in science means. Some people start imagining it in the same light as doing medical experiments on mice, pigs or monkeys. Its not about that. Here by the experimental approach I mean practical or hands-on approach using tools, equipment, machinery etc (more of applied science).
Industrial application of science or say technology has never waited for a perfect scientific theory to explain its working. When the automobiles were made, it was thought that electricity flows from the positive terminal to the negative and all electrical wiring was designed with this wrong theory but it worked and till now the same wiring is being used. Now we know that electricity always flows from negative to positive terminal.
Similarly when atomic bomb was made in 1940s, the complete atomic structure was not yet known (is still in research). Navigation in the open oceans was done long before the longitude problem was solved (only latitude was known). Vasco de gama came to India from Europe in 1498 without waiting for longitude calculation theory.
For hundreds of years, people believed in the wrong theory that sun rotates around the earth but still calendars were developed and used.
Also, the Jet engine was invented by a pilot (Frank Whittle) who was well-versed in workshop's technical work. He later on added some theory to enhance his understanding but it was not the basis of his invention.
When Wright brothers did their first flight in 1903, they did not have any fancy design softwares. They did it through trial and error (and of course motivation). They were not even engineers or scientists but were well-versed in practical workshop work.
Many discoveries were made by chance while scientists were doing experiments. It would have taken a lot more time to discover them through theory and analysis only.
The guys that designed and built custom bikes (choppers) on the Discovery Channel's program "Amercian Chopper" never seemed to have used any Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software for structural strength testing. FEA and Universal Testing Machine is of course obligatory for reliability considerations but not important for realizing your first prototype.
Some very famous rocket engineers were rocket enthusiasts from their boyhood and had built and tested several model rockets before even starting their jobs as engineers. To kindle the interest of younger generation in the field of space exploration, they are taught to build model rockets in the space learning centers of Europe. Also engineering students design and build model rockets.
Even in our times when design and simulation softwares are available, a product still needs to be validated by experimental testing. Like an aircraft wing designed through a Computaitonal Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software still needs to be tested in a wind tunnel for validation. The reason is that these softwares use many approximations that are simply not valid in all circumstances.
On a side note, the scientific research papers that contain experimental data often get many times more citations than theoretical or computational papers because other people working in the same field compare their theoretical or computational results to the experimental data.
Young engineers of our time spend a lot of their time in front of computer screens learning dozens of software packages at the cost of time in workshop and experimentation.
Pakistani engineering and technical education system should increase its emphasis on practical and experimental science with proper internships and projects to have hands-on experience on the machines, tools and equipment.
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