Material Plane
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While this can be argued, the Material Plane is generally regarded by scholars as the "center" of the cosmos - the "axis mundi" around which all other planes of existence orbit. It is possible to reach almost all other planes (with the significant exception of the Great Beyond), and two other planes (Faerie and the Plane of Shadows) seem to be echoes of it rather than independent creations. The vast majority of all known thinking beings reside here.

One especially noteworthy aspect of the Material Plane is that its substance cannot be shaped by acts of will alone. Most other planes bend to the wills of powerful inhabitants who can alter their shape and sometimes even their physical laws. The Material Plane, on the other hand, is oblivious to exertions of will. Changing it requires actions and tools - from bare hands to golem-powered machinery and magical rituals.

This fact makes the laws underlying the Material Plane comparably rational and logical - and thus, perfect for scientific inquiry and deduction. While describing, say, the "laws of nature" of the plane of Faerie risks losing oneself in metaphor (and indeed, it may be impossible to describe Faerie without doing so), the laws of nature of the Material Plane are constant and testable, and any scientific experiments conducted in it usually repeatable. Thus, the inhabitants of the Material Plane have involved into masters of scientific inquiry and technological innovation not seen anywhere else.

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