Science
Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. This is the definition of science adopted by British Science Council, an institution established in 2003 by Royal Charter. Merriam-Webster's full definition isn't that much different: "knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method." The Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology defines it as "the systematic observation of natural events and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate laws and principles based on these facts."
Each of these definitions of science characterizes science as a systematic approach to acquiring knowledge. It would be a travesty to find a definition of science that omits its key aspect: that science is—and always will be—inherently methodical. The realm of knowledge systematically acquired by science has proven to be vast and ever-expanding. On the other hand, there is still an even vaster expanse of knowledge still unknown, and that includes answers to questions we haven't even dreamed of asking yet.
Because they are so intimately related, it is hard to imagine teaching science without teaching the scientific method. As a result, any one of us who has ever had instruction on any level of science has had an inkling of what the scientific method is all about:
This systematic means for understanding the world around us is, without a doubt, an immensely powerful and awe-inspiring tool. Without the scientific method, it is difficult to imagine being able to do something as simple as checking what the weather will be like tomorrow, as ordinary as saying there are footprints on the moon, as commonplace as flipping a light switch on, or on the other hand, as important as getting prescribed a medication by one's doctor. Our ability to apply our understanding of the natural and social world—as gleaned from the scientific method—has profoundly revolutionized our lives.
Each of these definitions of science characterizes science as a systematic approach to acquiring knowledge. It would be a travesty to find a definition of science that omits its key aspect: that science is—and always will be—inherently methodical. The realm of knowledge systematically acquired by science has proven to be vast and ever-expanding. On the other hand, there is still an even vaster expanse of knowledge still unknown, and that includes answers to questions we haven't even dreamed of asking yet.
Because they are so intimately related, it is hard to imagine teaching science without teaching the scientific method. As a result, any one of us who has ever had instruction on any level of science has had an inkling of what the scientific method is all about:
- It starts with observations of the natural and/or social world.
- These observations lead to a question which the scientist seeks to answer. For example, if there is a pattern of nature observed by the scientist, the scientist might seek to answer why that pattern occurs.
- From these observations, the scientists forms a hypothesis, a solution to the question which the scientist supposes to be true.
- From this hypothesis, the scientist must develop testable predictions, asking the question, "if my hypothesis is correct, I should expect to see a, b, and c."
- The scientist then gathers data that will attempt to test those predictions.
- This can be done through an experiment, a study performed under conditions controlled entirely by the scientist, following a specific, unbiased procedure designed by the scientist beforehand. A thorough experiment will need to be done multiple times to ensure validity. This can also be done through making new observations, but in a far more procedural, methodical process than those initial observations.
- The scientist then makes a conclusion over whether the data fits their hypothesis. If the test results do not their original hypothesis, the scientist must either refine, alter, expand, or outright reject their hypothesis so that it does fit. From this new hypothesis, new testable predictions are developed, and the process starts over.
- Perhaps the most important step, the scientist communicates their entire study—their question, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion—to the scientific community.
- Members of the scientific community seek to replicate the scientist's conclusions through their own observations and experimental procedures.
- If a member finds a flaw in the original scientist's experiment, the whole study is invalidated, and the process needs to start over again.
- If a member makes experimental conclusions that disagree with or build upon those of the original scientist, the hypothesis will need to once again be refined, altered, expanded, or rejected, and new testable predictions are created.
- If an inquiry into an aspect of the natural or social world has cycled through the scientific method so many times that an overarching, general explanation over why that aspect of the world occurs has repeatedly and consistently confirmed by experimentation and observation, then and only then does that explanation become a theory.
But it doesn't stop there. Once a theory is developed, it leads to new predictions and new observations, and the cycle continues. In this sense, a scientific theory is never truly "complete"; it is always leading to new observations, new questions, and new discoveries that may refine or build upon the theory.
Sitting at the core of the scientific method and all scientific theory is evidence. Finding evidence is the goal of all scientific investigations. For evidence to be considered scientific, it must have been collected by means of the scientific method—that is, through careful experimentation, observation, and replication. Through the scientific method, a single piece of evidence can turn an entire theory on its head. If, for example, we find a fossilized skeleton of a Homo sapiens in the same geological layer as the dinosaurs—in such a way to indicate unambiguously that modern humans existed at the same time the dinosaurs did—we might have to completely rethink our current scientific understanding of the origins of life on Earth, or perhaps reject it completely.
Sitting at the core of the scientific method and all scientific theory is evidence. Finding evidence is the goal of all scientific investigations. For evidence to be considered scientific, it must have been collected by means of the scientific method—that is, through careful experimentation, observation, and replication. Through the scientific method, a single piece of evidence can turn an entire theory on its head. If, for example, we find a fossilized skeleton of a Homo sapiens in the same geological layer as the dinosaurs—in such a way to indicate unambiguously that modern humans existed at the same time the dinosaurs did—we might have to completely rethink our current scientific understanding of the origins of life on Earth, or perhaps reject it completely.
This systematic means for understanding the world around us is, without a doubt, an immensely powerful and awe-inspiring tool. Without the scientific method, it is difficult to imagine being able to do something as simple as checking what the weather will be like tomorrow, as ordinary as saying there are footprints on the moon, as commonplace as flipping a light switch on, or on the other hand, as important as getting prescribed a medication by one's doctor. Our ability to apply our understanding of the natural and social world—as gleaned from the scientific method—has profoundly revolutionized our lives.