The Road to Precision Cosmology

Abstract

The past 50 years has seen cosmology go from a field known for the errors being in the exponents to precision science. The transformation, powered by ideas, technology, a paradigm shift and culture change, has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe, with the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm as its crowning achievement. I chronicle the journey of precision cosmology and finish with my thoughts about what lies ahead.

Comments: Submitted to Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science. To appear in volume 32; doi: 10.1146/annurev-nucl-111119-041046. Comments and suggestions welcome