What is Science?
Science is a particular way of understanding the natural world. It extends the intrinsic curiosity with which we are born. It allows us to connect the past with the present, as with the redwoods depicted here. Science is based on the premise that our senses, and extensions of those senses through the use of instruments, can give us accurate information about the Universe. Science follows very specific “rules” and its results are always subject to testing and, if necessary, revision. Even with such constraints science does not exclude, and often benefits from, creativity and imagination (with a good bit of logic thrown in).
In the most basic sense of the word, Science means "to know". In today’s society, the word science is usually synomonous with the natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, or biology. However, science can be any inquiring body of knowledge that attempts to understand and categorize elements that are relevant to the respective field in question. Under this definition, science could mean anything from history to underwater basket weaving.
Science is a type of knowledge-gathering and interpersonal collaboration based on a standard called the scientific method. The goal is to formulate theories that successfully predict various phenomena, from the speed of a ball rolling downhill to the way a star collapses as it exhausts its fuel. The scientific method is a basic cycle of hypothesis formation and testing. First, the scientist forms a hypothesis about the way something works. For instance, that all objects fall the same speed on Earth in a vacuum. The hypothesis is followed by testing. The scientist must use a vacuum chamber as an experimental apparatus, drop various objects within the chamber, and measure their duration of fall as accurately as possible. Then the scientist compares the results with the original hypothesis, seeing whether they support or contradict it. But that’s not all – the scientist must publish his or her results, so that other scientists can try the same experiments and make sure that the results ar
Science is a way of understanding the world, not a mountain of facts. Before anyone can truly understand scientific information, they must know how science works. Science does not prove anything absolutely — all scientific ideas are open to revision in the light of new evidence. The process of science, therefore, involves making educated guesses (hypotheses) that are then rigorously and repeatedly tested. For a better understanding of the nature and process of science, check out these links, books, and articles.
