Science (from Latin scientia , meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of explanations and predictions that can be tested about the universe.
From classical times up to the nineteenth century, science as a kind of knowledge was more closely related to philosophy. In the West, the term philosophy of nature covers a field of study currently related to disciplines such as classical physics, astronomy and medicine and is the forerunner of modern natural sciences (life sciences and physical sciences). In the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of natural law . For centuries, the term science became associated with the scientific method, a systematic way of studying the natural world and especially in the nineteenth century, the diverse characteristics of contemporary modern science began to form.
Modern science is usually divided into three main branches of natural science (eg biology, chemistry, physics), which studies nature in its broadest sense; social sciences (eg psychology, sociology, economics), who study individuals and society; and formal sciences (eg mathematics, logic, theoretical computer science), who study abstract concepts. However, there is disagreement, in formal science is science because they do not rely on empirical evidence. Disciplines that use science, such as engineering and medicine, are described as applied sciences.
Science is related to research and is generally organized by academic and research institutions as well as government agencies and companies. The practical impact of scientific research has led to the emergence of science policies that seek to influence scientific enterprises by prioritizing the development of commercial products, weaponry, health care, and environmental protection.
Video Science
Histori
Science in the broad sense exists before the modern era and in many historical civilizations. Modern science differs in its approach and succeeds in its results, so it now defines what science is in the strictest sense of the term. Science in its original sense is a word for the kind of knowledge, rather than a special word to pursue that knowledge. In particular, it is the kind of knowledge that people can communicate with each other and share. For example, knowledge of the work of natural objects was collected long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought. This is demonstrated by the construction of complex calendars, techniques for making edible toxic plants, public works on a national scale, such as those utilizing the Yangtse floodplains with reservoirs, dams, and embankments, and buildings such as the Pyramids. However, there is no consistent conscious distinction made between the knowledge of such matters, which is true in every community, and other types of communal knowledge, such as mythology and the legal system. Metallurgy known in prehistory, and Vin? Culture is the earliest producer of bronze-like alloys. It is thought that early experiments with heating and mixing of substances over time evolved into alchemy.
Initial culture
Both the words and the concepts of "science" and "nature" are part of the conceptual landscape in the ancient near east. Ancient Mesopotamia uses the knowledge of the nature of various natural chemicals for the manufacture of pottery, faience, glass, soap, metal, lime plaster, and waterproofing; they also studied animal physiology, anatomy, and behavior for divinatory purposes and made extensive notes of the movements of astronomical objects for their astrological studies. Mesopotamia was particularly interested in medicine and the earliest medical recipes appeared in Sumeras during the Third Dynasty of Ur ( c. 2112 BC - c. 2004 SM). Nevertheless, Mesopotamia seems to have little interest in gathering information about the natural world just for the sake of gathering information and mainly just studying scientific subjects that have a clear practical application or direct relevance to their religious system.
Classic ancient
In the classical world, there is no real ancient analogue of a modern scientist. In contrast, well-educated, usually upper-class, and almost universally men men investigate nature whenever they are able to make time. Prior to the invention or discovery of the concept of "nature" (ancient Greece phusis ) by the Pre-Socratic philosophers, the same words tend to be used to describe the nature of the " , and the "way" in which, for example, one tribe worships a particular deity. For this reason, it is stated that these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense, and also the first ones to clearly distinguish "nature" and "convention." Science is thus distinguished as the knowledge of nature and the right things for every community, and the name of the special pursuit of that knowledge is philosophy - the field of first philosopher-physicist. They are primarily speculators or theorists, especially those interested in astronomy. Instead, trying to use natural knowledge to mimic nature (intelligence or technology, Greek tek? ) is seen by classical scientists as a more appropriate interest for lower class craftsmen.
The early Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, founded by Thales of Miletus and then passed on by his successors Anaximander and Anaximenes, were the first to try to explain the natural phenomena without being dependent on the supernatural. The Pythagoreans developed a complex number philosophy and contributed significantly to the development of mathematical sciences. The atomic theory was developed by the Greek philosopher Leucippus and his disciple Democritus. Greek physician Hippocrates established a systematic medical science tradition known as "Father of Medicine".
The turning point in the history of early philosophical science is the example of Socrates applying philosophy to study human problems, including human nature, the nature of the political community, and human knowledge itself. The Socratic method as documented by Plato's dialogue is a dialectical method of the elimination of hypotheses: a better hypothesis is found by continuously identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. This is a reaction to Sophis's emphasis on rhetoric. The Socratic Method seeks common truth, which is usually held that molds beliefs and examines them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. Socrates criticized this type of older physics studies as being too speculative and lacking in self-criticism. Socrates then, in his words Apology , was accused of damaging the Athenian youth because he "did not believe in the gods of the believer, but in other new spiritual beings". Socrates denied this claim, but was sentenced to death.
Aristotle later created a systematic program of teleological philosophy: Motion and change are portrayed as the actualization of the potential that already exists in various ways, according to what kind of things they are. In physics, the Sun encircles the Earth, and many things have it as part of their nature that it is for humans. Every thing has a formal cause, a final cause, and a role in the cosmic order with immovable movers. While the Socrates insist that philosophy should be used to consider practical questions about the best way to live for a human being (a study that Aristotle shares in ethics and political philosophy), they do not debate other types of applied sciences. Aristotle argued that man knows something scientifically "when he has faith comes in a certain way, and when the first principles underlying that belief are known to him with certainty".
The Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 BC) was the first to propose the heliocentric model of the universe, with the Sun at the center and all the planets orbiting it. The Aristarchus model is widely rejected because it is believed to violate the laws of physics. The inventor and mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse made a major contribution to the beginning of calculus and is sometimes regarded as the inventor, although his proto calculus lacks some defining features. Pliny the Elder is a Roman author and polymath, who writes the seminal encyclopedia of Natural History, dealing with history, geography, medicine, astronomy, earth sciences, botany, and zoology. Other scientists or proto scientists in ancient times were Theophrastus, Euclid, Herophilos, Hipparchus, Ptolemy, and Galen.
During the end of antiquity, in the Byzantine empire many classical Greek texts were preserved. Many Syrian translations were conducted by groups such as Nestorians and Monophysites. They play a role when they translate classical Greek texts into Arabic under the Caliphate, where many types of classical learning are preserved and in some cases repaired. In addition, the adjacent Sassanid Empire established the Gondeshapur Medical Academy where Greek, Syrian and Persian doctors established the most important medical center in the ancient world during the 6th and 7th centuries.
Medieval science
Due to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire due to the Migration Period, there was an intellectual decline in western Europe in the 400s. Instead, the Byzantine Empire rejected attacks from barbarians, and preserved and improved on learning. John Philoponus, a Byzantine scholar in the 500s, was the first scholar to ever question the teaching of physics by Aristotle and record his shortcomings. John Philoponus's critique of the principles of Aristotelian physics serves as an inspiration to medieval scholars and also to Galileo Galilei who, ten centuries later, during the Scientific Revolution, extensively quotes Philoponus in his works while making the case of why Aristotle physics is flawed.
During the late antiquity and early Middle Ages, Aristotle's approach to the question of natural phenomena was used. Four reasons Aristotle determined that four questions of "why" must be answered to explain things scientifically. Some ancient knowledge is lost, or in some cases kept in obscurity, during the fall of the Western Roman Empire and periodic political struggles. However, the general field of science (or "natural philosophy" as it is called) and much of the general knowledge of the ancient world remain preserved through the works of early Latin Encyclopedists such as Isidore of Seville. However, Aristotle's original text has finally disappeared in Western Europe, and only one text by Plato is widely known, Timaeus , which is the only Platonic dialogue, and one of the few original works of classical natural philosophy. , available to Latin readers in the early Middle Ages. Another original work that gained influence in this period was Ptolemy Almagest , which contains a geocentric description of the solar system.
In the Byzantine empire, much of the classical Greek text is preserved. Many Syrian translations were conducted by groups such as Nestorians and Monophysites. They play a role when they translate classical Greek texts into Arabic under the Caliphate, where many types of classical learning are preserved and in some cases repaired.
The House of Wisdom was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, where the Abbasid era in which the Islamic studies of Aristotelianism developed. Al-Kindi (801-873) was the first Muslim Peripatetic philosopher, and was known for his efforts to introduce Greek and Hellenistic philosophy into the Arab world. The Golden Age of Islam developed today until the Mongol invasion of the 13th century. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), as well as his predecessor Ibn Sahl, familiar with Ptolemy Optics , and using experiments as a means of gaining knowledge. In addition, doctors and alchemists such as Avicenna Persia and Al-Razi also greatly developed medical science with the former wrote the Canon of Medicine, a medical encyclopedia used until the 18th century and the latter found several compounds such as alcohol. The Avicenna canon is considered one of the most important publications in the medical world and both contribute significantly to the practice of experimental medicine, using clinical trials and experiments to support their claims.
In the days of the Greek Classics and Roman taboos meant that surgery was usually forbidden in ancient times, but in the Middle Ages it changed: medical teachers and students in Bologna began to open the human body, and Mondino de Luzzi (c. 1275-1326) produced the first known anatomical book based on human dissection.
By the eleventh century, most of Europe had become Christians; a stronger monarchy emerges; The border is restored; technological developments and agricultural innovations are being made that increase the food supply and population. In addition, classical Greek texts began to be translated from Arabic and Greek into Latin, providing a higher level of scientific discussion in Western Europe.
In 1088, the first university in Europe (University of Bologna) had emerged from its early clergy. The demand for Latin translations is increasing (for example, from the Toledo Penetration School); Western Europe began collecting texts written not only in Latin but also Latin translations from Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew. The copy of Alhazen Book of Optics is also disseminated throughout Europe before 1240, as evidenced by its incorporation into Vitello Perspectiva . Canon Avicenna is translated into Latin. In particular, the texts of Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Euclid, preserved in the House of Wisdom and also in the Byzantine Empire, are sought among Catholic scholars. The entry of ancient texts led to the Renaissance of the twelfth century and the development of Catholic synthesis and Aristotelianism known as Scholasticism in Western Europe, which became the center of new geographical knowledge. An experiment in this period will be understood as a careful process of observing, describing, and classifying. One of the leading scientists of this era is Roger Bacon. Scholasticism has a strong focus on dialectical revelation and reasoning, and gradually disliked over the next centuries, because the alchemical focus on experiments that include direct observation and careful documentation is slowly increasing in importance.
Renaissance and early modern science
Alhazen refuted the theory of Ptolemy's vision, but did not make the appropriate changes to Aristotle's metaphysics. The scientific revolution goes hand in hand with the process in which Aristotle's metaphysical elements such as ethics, teleology, and formal causality gradually disliked. Scholars slowly realize that the universe itself may have no ethical purpose and necessity. The development of a physics is impregnated with purpose, ethics, and passion, toward physics in which these elements do not play an integral, centuries-old role. This development was enhanced by the Curse 1277, in which the books of Aristotle were forbidden by the Catholic church. This allows the theoretical possibility of vacuum and motion in a vacuum. The immediate result is the emergence of science dynamics.
New developments in optics play a role in Renaissance formation, both by challenging long-held metaphysical ideas on perception, as well as by contributing to the improvement and development of technologies such as camera obscura and telescopes. Before what we now know as the Renaissance begins, Roger Bacon, Vitello, and John Peckham each build a scholastic ontology on the causal chain beginning with sensation, perception, and finally the apperception of the individual and universal form of Aristotle. A vision model which came to be known as perspectivism was exploited and studied by Renaissance artists. This theory uses only three of Aristotle's four causes: formal, material, and final.
In the sixteenth century, Copernicus formulated a heliocentric model of the solar system unlike the geocentric model of Ptolemy Almagest. This is based on the theorem that the orbital periods of planets are longer because their balls are far from the center of motion, which he finds incompatible with the Ptolemaic model.
Kepler and others challenge the idea that the only function of the eye is perception, and diverts the primary focus in optics from eye to light propagation. Kepler modeled his eyes as a glass ball of water with a gap in front of him to model the incoming students. He discovered that all the light from a single scene point is imaged at a point on the back of a glass ball. The optical chain ends in the retina at the back of the eye. Kepler is notorious, however, to improve the heliocentric model of Copernicus through the discovery of the laws of the Kepler planetary movement. Kepler did not reject Aristotle's metaphysics, and described his work as the quest for Harmony of the Spheres.
Galileo makes innovative use of experiments and mathematics. However, he was persecuted after Pope Urban VIII blessed Galileo for writing about the Copernican system. Galileo has used arguments from the Pope and placed them in the voice of a fool in the work of "Dialogue on Two Major World Systems," which is very offensive to him.
In Northern Europe, new printing technology is widely used to publicize many arguments, including some who disagree broadly with contemporary ideas about nature. RenÃÆ'Â © Descartes and Francis Bacon published philosophical arguments in favor of a new kind of non-Aristotelian science. Descartes emphasizes individual thought and argues that mathematics rather than geometry should be used to study nature. Bacon emphasized the importance of experiments on contemplation. Bacon further questioned Aristotle's concept of the formal cause and the ultimate cause, and promoted the notion that science should study the law of "simple" properties, such as heat, rather than assume that there is a certain trait, or "formal cause," of any kind of complicated matters. This new modern science begins to see itself as describing the "laws of nature". The updated approach to study in nature is seen as mechanistic. Bacon also argues that science should aim for the first time on practical discoveries for the improvement of all human life.
Age of Enlightenment
As the predecessor of the Age of Enlightenment, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz succeeded in developing new physics, now referred to as classical mechanics, which can be confirmed by experimentation and described using mathematics. Leibniz also incorporated the term from Aristotelian physics, but is now used in new non-teleological ways, for example, "energy" and "potential" (modern versions of Aristotelian "energeia and potentia ") ). This implies a shift in object views: Where Aristotle has noted that objects have certain innate purposes that can be actualized, objects are now regarded as having no innate purpose. In the style of Francis Bacon, Leibniz assumes that various types of things all work in accordance with the same natural law, without any formal or final cause specific to any kind of thing. It was during this period that the word "science" gradually became more commonly used to refer to the type of knowledge, especially the knowledge of nature, to the meaning of the old term "natural philosophy."
Science during Enlightenment is dominated by the scientific community and academy, which has replaced the university as a center of scientific research and development. Society and academy are also the backbone of the scientific profession. Another important development is the popularization of science among an increasingly educated population. Philosophy introduced the public to many scientific theories, mainly through the Encyclopà © à © die and popularized Newtonianism by Voltaire as well as by ÃÆ'â € ° milie du ChÃÆ'  ¢ telet, the French translator of Newton Principia >.
Some historians have marked the 18th century as a boring period in the history of science; However, this century sees significant progress in the practice of medicine, mathematics, and physics; development of biological taxonomy; a new understanding of magnetism and electricity; and chemical maturation as a discipline, which sets the foundations of modern chemistry.
Enlightenment philosophers chose the short history of the scientific predecessors - Galileo, Boyle, and Newton in principle - as guides and guarantores of their application of a single concept of nature and natural law to every physical and social field of the day. In this case, the history lesson and the social structure built on it can be discarded.
19th century
The nineteenth century is a very important period in the history of science because during this era many of the distinctive features of contemporary modern science began to take shape such as: the transformation of life and the physical sciences, the frequent use of precision instruments, the emergence of terms such as "biologists", "physicists" , "scientist"; slowly moving away from ancient labels such as "natural philosophy" and "natural history", the increased professionalization of those who study nature leads to the decline of amateur naturalists, scientists gain cultural authority over many dimensions of society, economic expansion and industrialization of a number of countries, evolving from popular science writings and the rise of scientific journals.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, John Dalton suggested modern atomic theory, based on the original idea of ​​Democritus about the separable particles called atoms .
Both systematic methodologies John Herschel and William Whewell: the latter created the term scientist. When Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species he defined evolution as the prevailing explanation of biological complexity. His natural selection theory provides a natural explanation of how species originated, but this was only widely accepted a century later.
The law of conservation of energy, conservation of momentum and conservation of mass suggests a very stable universe in which there is little loss of resources. With the advent of steam engines and industrial revolutions, there is, however, an increased understanding that all forms of energy as defined by Newton are not equally useful; they do not have the same energy quality. This awareness leads to the development of thermodynamic law, in which the cumulative nature of the universe's energy is seen as continuing to decline: the entropy of the universe increases over time.
Electromagnetic theory was also established in the 19th century, and raises new questions that can not be easily answered using Newton's framework. The phenomenon that allowed atomic deconstruction was discovered in the last decades of the 19th century: the discovery of X-rays inspired the discovery of radioactivity. In the following year came the discovery of the first subatomic particles, electrons.
20th century
Einstein's theory of relativity and the development of quantum mechanics led to the replacement of classical mechanics with new physics containing two parts describing various types of events in nature.
In the first half of this century, the development of antibiotics and artificial fertilizers made the growth of global human population possible. At the same time, the atomic structure and its nucleus are found, leading to the release of "atomic energy" (nuclear power). In addition, the use of extensive technological innovations stimulated by the war of the century led to a revolution in transportation (cars and airplanes), ICBM development, space race, and nuclear weapons races.
The molecular structure of DNA was discovered in 1953. The discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation in 1964 led to the rejection of Steady State universe theory in favor of the Big Bang Georges LemaÃÆ'®tre theory.
Space development in the second half of this century allows the first astronomical measurements to be performed on or near other objects in space, including a manned moon landfall. The space telescope caused many discoveries in astronomy and cosmology.
The use of extensive integrated circuits in the last quarter of the 20th century combined with satellite communications led to a revolution in information technology and the emergence of global internet and mobile computing, including smart phones. The need for mass systematization of long and interrelated causal chains and large amounts of data led to the emergence of computer-assisted systems theory and computer modeling, partly based on Aristotle's paradigm.
Dangerous environmental issues such as ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication and climate change are of public concern over the same period, and lead to environmental science and environmental technology. In a 1967 article, Lynn Townsend White Jr. blaming the ecological crisis about the historical decline of ideas about spirits in nature.
21st century
With the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, the last particle predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics is found. By 2015, gravitational waves, predicted by general relativity a century earlier, were first observed.
The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, determined the sequence of nucleotide base pairs that make up human DNA, and identifies and maps all genes from the human genome. Induced pluripotent stem cells were developed in 2006, a technology that allows adult cells to be converted into stem cells capable of causing any type of cell found in the body, potentially very important for the regenerative medicine field.
Maps Science
Scientific method
The scientific method seeks to objectively explain natural events in a reproducible manner. Experiments of explanative thinking or hypotheses are proposed as explanations using principles such as parsimony (also known as "Occam's Razor") and are generally expected to seek consistency - matching with other facts related to the phenomenon. This new explanation is used to create forged predictions that can be tested by experiment or observation. Predictions must be posted before a confirmed experiment or observation is sought, as evidence that no interruption occurs. Predictability disability is evidence of progress. This is done partly through the observation of natural phenomena, but also through experiments that attempt to simulate natural events under controlled conditions according to discipline (in observational science, such as astronomy or geology, predicted observations might replace controlled places). trial). Experimentation is essential in science to help establish causal relationships (to avoid fallacy correlation).
When a hypothesis proves unsatisfactory, the hypothesis is modified or discarded. If the hypothesis persists from the test, it can be adopted into a logical and reasonable frame of scientific theory, model or logical framework to describe the behavior of a particular natural phenomenon. A theory usually describes the behavior of a collection of phenomena far more widely than the hypothesis; Generally, a large number of hypotheses can be logically tied together by one theory. So theory is a hypothesis that explains various other hypotheses. In that case, the theory is formulated according to most of the same scientific principles as the hypothesis. In addition to testing the hypothesis, scientists can also produce models, attempts to describe or describe phenomena in terms of logical, physical or mathematical representation and to produce new hypotheses that can be tested, based on observable phenomena.
When conducting experiments to test hypotheses, scientists may have a preference for one outcome over another, and therefore it is important to ensure that science as a whole can eliminate this bias. This can be achieved with careful experimental design, transparency, and a thorough peer review process of experimental results and conclusions. Once the experimental results are published or published, it is a normal practice for independent researchers to re-examine how the research is done, and to follow up by doing similar experiments to determine how reliable the results are. Overall, the scientific method allows for highly creative problem solving while minimizing the effect of subjective bias on some users (especially confirmation bias).
Math and formal science
Mathematics is very important for science. One of the important functions of mathematics in science is the role it plays in the expression of scientific models. Observing and collecting measurements, as well as hypothesizing and predicting, often requires extensive use of mathematics. For example, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus are all important to physics. Almost every branch of mathematics has applications in science, including "pure" fields such as number theory and topology.
The statistical method, which is a mathematical technique for summarizing and analyzing data, allows scientists to assess the level of reliability and variety in experimental results. Statistical analysis plays a fundamental role in many fields of natural sciences and social sciences.
Computational science applies computing power to simulate real-world situations, enabling a better understanding of scientific problems than can be achieved only by formal mathematics. According to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, calculations are now as important as theories and experiments in advancing scientific knowledge.
Other formal sciences include information theory, system theory, decision theory and linguistic theory. Such sciences involve the study of a well-defined abstract system that relies heavily on mathematics. They do not involve empirical procedures, their results are logically derived from their definition and are analytic.
Parts of the natural and social sciences are based on empirical results but are heavily dependent on the development of mathematics including mathematical physics, mathematical chemistry, mathematical biology, mathematical finance, and mathematical economics.
Whether mathematics itself is true as science has become a matter of debate. Some thinkers see mathematicians as scientists, about physical experimentation as an essential or mathematical proof equivalent to experimentation. Others do not see mathematics as a science because it does not require an experimental test of the theory and hypothesis. Mathematical theorems and formulas are derived by logical derivation which assumes an axiomatic system, rather than a combination of empirical observation and logical reasoning which came to be known as the scientific method. In general, mathematics is classified as a formal science, while natural and social sciences are classified as empirical sciences.
Scientific community
The scientific community is a group of all scientists who interact. It includes many sub-communities working in certain scientific fields, and within certain institutions; Interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are also significant.
Branch and fields
The scientific field is usually divided into two major groups: natural science, which studies natural phenomena (including biological life), and social science, which studies human behavior and society. These are both empirical sciences, which means their knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and able to be tested for validity by other researchers working in the same conditions. There are also related disciplines that are grouped into interdisciplinary applied science, such as engineering and medicine. In these categories there are specialized scientific fields that can include sections from other disciplines but often have their own nomenclature and expertise.
Mathematics, classified as formal science, has similarities and differences with the empirical sciences (natural and social sciences). This is similar to the empirical sciences in that it involves an objective, careful and systematic study of a field of knowledge; it differs because the method verifies its knowledge, uses a priori rather than the empirical method. The formal sciences, which also include statistics and logic, are essential to the empirical sciences. Major advances in formal science often lead to major advances in empirical science. Formal sciences are essential in the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, both in discovering and explaining how things work (the natural sciences) and how people think and act (social science).
Regardless of its broad meaning, the word "science" can sometimes refer specifically to the basic sciences (mathematics and natural sciences) themselves. Science schools or faculties in many institutions are separate from medical or technical sciences, each of which is applied science.
Institution
Communities that have studied for communication and promotion of scientific thought and experiment have existed since the Renaissance period. The oldest surviving institution is Italian Italian Accademia dei Lincei founded in 1603. The respected National Academy of Sciences institutions existing in a number of countries, beginning with the British Royal Society in 1660 and French AcadÃÆ'Â © nie des Sciences on 1666.
International scientific organizations, such as the International Council for Science, have been established to promote cooperation between the scientific communities of different countries. Many governments have specialized agencies to support scientific research. Leading scientific organizations including the National Science Foundation in the US, the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Argentina, the CSIRO in Australia, the national center de la recherche scientifique in France, Max Planck Society and German Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in Germany, and CSIC in Spain.
Literature
A large number of published scientific literature. Scientific journals communicate and document the results of research conducted at universities and other research institutions, serving as archives of science archives. The first scientific journal, Journal des SÃÆ'§avans was followed by Philosophical Transactions , began to be published in 1665. Since then the total number of active magazines has continued to increase. In 1981, one estimate for the number of scientific and technical journals in the publication was 11,500. The National Library of Medicine of the United States currently indexes 5,516 journals containing articles on topics related to life sciences. Although the journal is in 39 languages, 91 percent of indexed articles are published in English.
Most scientific journals cover a single scientific field and publish research in that field; research is usually expressed in the form of scientific papers. Science has become so pervasive in modern society that it is generally deemed necessary to communicate the achievements, news, and ambitions of scientists to the wider society.
Science magazines such as New Scientist , Science & amp; Vie , and Scientific American meet the needs of a much broader audience and provide non-technical summaries of popular research areas, including important discoveries and advances in specific research areas. Science books involve the interest of many people. Strictly speaking, the genre of science fiction, especially fantastic in nature, involves the public imagination and transmitting ideas, if not methods, of science.
Recent efforts to intensify or develop relationships between science and non-scientific disciplines such as literature or more specifically, poetry, including Creative Writing resources developed through the Royal Literary Fund.
Scientific practice
Although encyclopedias such as Pliny's (fl. 77 AD) Natural History offer recognized facts, they prove unreliable. A skeptical view, demanding a method of proof, is a practical position taken to deal with unreliable knowledge. As early as 1000 years ago, scholars like Alhazen, Roger Bacon, Witelo, John Pecham, Francis Bacon (1605), and CS Peirce (1839-1914) provided the community to overcome the point - the point of this uncertainty. In particular, faulty reasoning can be exposed, such as "asserting the consequences."
"If a man will start with certainty, he will end up with hesitation, but if he will be content to start with doubts, he will end up in certainty."
The method of investigating the problem has been known for thousands of years, and goes beyond theory to practice. The use of measurement, for example, is a practical approach to resolving disputes in society.
John Ziman points out that the introduction of intersubjective patterns is the basis for the creation of all scientific knowledge. Ziman shows how scientists can identify patterns with one another over the centuries; he refers to this ability as "perceptive perception." He then made consensibility, leading to a consensus, a reliable test of knowledge.
Basic and applied research
Although some scientific research applied research into certain issues, much of our understanding comes from curiosity driven basic research. This leads to options for technological advances that are unplanned or sometimes even imaginable. This was made by Michael Faraday when supposedly in response to the question "what is used from basic research?" he replied: "Sir, what's the use of a newborn child?". For example, studies of red-light effects on human stem cells seem to have no practical purpose; finally, the discovery that our night vision is not bothered by red lights will lead searchers and rescue teams (among others) to adopt red lights in cockpit jets and helicopters. In short, basic research is the search for knowledge and applied research is the search for solutions to practical problems using this knowledge. Finally, even basic research can take on unexpected changes, and there are some notions in which scientific methods are built to capitalize on luck.
Conduct research in practice
Due to the increasing complexity of information and specialization of scientists, much of the current research is done by well-funded, non-individual scientists. D.K. Simonton notes that due to the vastness of the very precise and far-reaching tools that have been used by current researchers and the amount of research produced so far, the creation of new disciplines or revolutions in a discipline may no longer be possible since it is unlikely that some phenomena whose self-discipline benefits have been ignored. The hybridization of discipline and finessing knowledge is, in his view, the future of science.
The practical impact of scientific research
Discovery in basic science can change the world. As an example:
Science philosophy
Working scientists usually take for granted the basic set of assumptions needed to justify the scientific method: (1) that there is an objective reality shared by all rational observers; (2) that this objective reality is governed by the laws of nature; (3) that these laws can be found through systematic observations and experiments. The philosophy of science seeks an in-depth understanding of what the underlying assumptions mean and whether they are valid.
The belief that scientific theories must and do represent metaphysical realities is known as realism. This can be contrasted with anti-realism, the view that the success of science does not depend on its accuracy of unobservable entities such as electrons. One form of anti-realism is idealism, the belief that the mind or consciousness is the most basic essence, and that every thought produces its own reality. In an idealist world view, what is true for one mind does not need to be true to the minds of others.
There are various schools of thought in the philosophy of science. The most popular position is empiricism, which argues that knowledge is created by a process that involves observation and that scientific theories are the result of the generalization of the observations. Empiricism in general includes inductivism, a position that attempts to explain the way general theories can be justified by the limited number of observations that human beings can make and hence some empirical evidence available to confirm scientific theories. This is necessary because the number of predictions made by the theory is infinite, meaning that they can not be known from a limited amount of evidence using only deductive logic. Many versions of empiricism exist, with the dominant ones being Bayesianism and hypothetical-deductive methods.
Empiricism stands in opposition to rationalism, a position originally associated with Descartes, who assumes that knowledge is created by human reason, not by observation. Critical Rationalism is a twentieth-century approach contrary to science, first defined by the Austrian-English philosopher Karl Popper. Popper rejects the way empiricism describes the relationship between theory and observation. He claims that the theory is not produced by observation, but the observation is made in the light of the theory and that the only way the theory can be influenced by observation is when it contradicts it. Popper proposes replacing verifiability with falsifiability as a landmark of scientific theories and replacing induction with forgery as an empirical method. Popper further claims that there really is only one universal method, not specific to science: negative criticism, trial and error. It includes all products of the human mind, including science, mathematics, philosophy, and art.
Another approach, instrumentalism, colloquially called "silent and multiply," emphasizes the usefulness of theory as an instrument for explaining and predicting phenomena. It views scientific theories as black boxes with only their input (initial conditions) and relevant (predictive) outcomes. Consequences, theoretical entities, and logical structures are claimed as something that should be ignored and that scientists should not make a fuss (see the interpretation of quantum mechanics). Close to instrumentalism is constructive empiricism, which he says the main criterion for the success of scientific theory is whether what it says about observable entities is true.
Paul Feyerabend put forward the idea of ​​epistemological anarchism, which states that there are no useful methodologies and exemptions which govern the progress of science or the growth of knowledge and that the notion that science can or should operate in accordance with universal rules remains unrealistic. , damaging and harming the science itself. Feyerabend's supporters treat science as an ideology with others such as religion, magic, and mythology, and consider the dominance of science in authoritarian society and unjustifiable. He also argues (along with Imre Lakatos) that the problem of demarcation distinguishes science from pseudoscience by objective reasons is impossible and thus fatal to the notion of science goes according to the rules, remains universal. Feyerabend also stated that science has no evidence for its philosophical teachings, particularly the notion of uniformity of laws and processes across space and time.
Finally, another often cited approach in the debate of scientific skepticism to controversial movements such as "the creation of science" is methodological naturalism. The main point is that the distinction between natural and supernatural explanations must be made and that science must be methodologically restricted to natural descriptions. That limitation is only methodological (not ontological) means that science should not consider the supernatural explanation itself, but should not claim it wrong. Conversely, supernatural explanations should be left to the issue of personal belief outside the scope of science. Methodological naturalism holds that proper science requires strict adherence to empirical studies and independent verification as a process for developing and evaluating explanations correctly for observable phenomena. The absence of these standards, the arguments of authority, the biased observational studies and other common mistakes are often cited by proponents of methodological naturalism as a feature of the non-science they criticize.
Certainty and science
A scientific theory is empirical and always open to forgery if new evidence is presented. That is, there is no theory that is considered absolutely certain because science accepted the concept of fallibilism. The philosopher Karl Popper sharply distinguishes the truth from certainty. He wrote that scientific knowledge "consists in the search for truth," but "does not seek certainty... All human knowledge can be wrong and therefore uncertain."
New scientific knowledge rarely produces major changes in our understanding. According to psychologist Keith Stanovich, perhaps exaggerated use of words such as "breakthroughs" leads the public to imagine that science continually proves everything right is wrong. Although there are well-known cases such as the theory of relativity that require complete reconceptualization, this is an extreme exception. Knowledge in science is obtained through the synthesis of information gradually from various experiments by various researchers in various branches of science; it's more like a climb than a jump. Theories vary how far they have been tested and verified, as well as their acceptance in the scientific community. For example, the heliocentric theory, the theory of evolution, the theory of relativity, and the germ theory still have the name of "theory" though, in practice, they are considered factual. Philosopher Barry Stroud adds that, although the best definition for "knowledge" is contested, being skeptical and entertaining the false possibility is compatible with being right. Therefore, scientists who follow a proper scientific approach will doubt themselves even if they have the truth. The fallibilist C. S. Peirce argues that inquiry is a struggle for resolving real doubts and that only vague quarrels, verbal, or hyperbolic hesitations - but also that pursuers should try to achieve genuine doubt rather than rest uncritically on common sense. He argues that successful science does not believe in a chain of inference (not stronger than the weakest link) but on the cable of various arguments that are closely connected.
Stanovich also asserted that science avoids the search for "magic bullets"; he avoids a single cause of error. This means a scientist will not ask just "What is the cause...", but "What is the most significant cause of...". This is especially true in the more macroscopic fields of science (eg psychology, physical cosmology). Research often analyzes several factors at once, but this is always added to the long list of the most important factors to consider. For example, knowing one's genetic detail alone, or their history and parenting, or the current situation may not explain behavior, but an in-depth understanding of all these variables can be highly predictive.
Fringe science, pseudoscience, and junk science
A field of study or speculation disguised as science in an attempt to claim unreachable legitimacy is sometimes referred to as pseudoscience, periphery science, or waste science. Physicist Richard Feynman coined the term "cargo science sect" for cases where researchers believe they are doing science because their activities have an outward appearance of science but do not actually have "the kind of honesty" that allows their results to be rigorously evaluated. Different types of commercial advertising, from hype to fraud, can fit into this category.
There can also be an element of political or ideological bias on all sides of the scientific debate. Sometimes, research can be characterized as "bad science," research that may be well intended but in fact false, obsolete, incomplete, or over-simplified exposition of scientific ideas. The term "scientific error" refers to situations such as where researchers deliberately misrepresent the data they publish or deliberately provide credit for discovery to the wrong person.
Science and society
Women in science
Science has historically been a predominantly male field, with some notable exceptions. Women face considerable discrimination in science, as they do in other areas of male-dominated society, such as are often overlooked for employment and denied credit for their work. For example, Christine Ladd (1847-1930) can enter the PhD program as "C. Ladd"; Christine "Kitty" Ladd completed the requirements in 1882, but was awarded a degree only in 1926, after a career that stretched logic algebra (see truth table), color vision, and psychology. His work preceded such renowned researchers as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Charles Sanders Peirce. Women's achievements in science have been linked to their defiance of their traditional role of domestic labor.
By the end of the 20th century, active recruitment of women and the abolition of institutional discrimination on the basis of sex greatly increased the number of female scientists, but large gender disparities persisted in several areas; more than half of the new biologists are women, while 80% PhD in physics is awarded to men. Feminists claim this is the result of culture rather than innate differences between the sexes, and some experiments have shown that parents challenge and explain more to boys than girls, asking them to ponder deeper and more logically. At the beginning of the 21st century, in the United States, women earn 50.3% college degrees, 45.6% of masters degrees, and 40.7% PhD in science and engineering with women earning more than half a degree in three areas: Psychology ( about 70%), Social Sciences (about 50%), and Biology (about 50-60%). However, when it comes to Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science, women earn less than half a degree. However, lifestyle choices also play a major role in women's involvement in science; women with young children were 28% less likely to take on track positions due to work-life balance issues, and the interest of female graduate students in careers in research declined dramatically during the graduate school period, while their male counterparts remained unchanged.
Science and the public
Various activities were developed to facilitate communication between the general public and science/scientists, such as science outreach, public awareness of science, science communication, science festivals, citizen sciences, science journalism, public science, and popular science. See Science and the public for related concepts.
Science is represented by 'S' in the STEM field.
Science policy
Science policy is a policy-related public policy area that affects the behavior of scientific enterprises, including research funding, often in line with other national policy goals such as technological innovation to promote commercial product development, weapons development, health care and monitoring environments. Science policy also refers to the act of applying scientific knowledge and consensus to the development of public policy. Thus, science policy deals with an entire domain of problems involving the natural sciences. In accordance with public policy that cares about the welfare of its citizens, the purpose of science policy is to consider how science and technology can best serve the public.
State policies have influenced the financing of public works (such as civil engineering work in the Sunshu Ao hydraulic technique (??? 7 c BCE), Ximen Bao (5th c.BCE), and Shi Chi (4th c B). )) and science for thousands of years. This work dates from at least from the time of Mohist, who inspired logic studies during the Hundred Mind School period, and the study of bastions (such as the Great Wall of China, which took 2000 years to complete) during the Warring States period in China. In the United Kingdom, the approval of the Royal Society government in the 17th century recognized the scientific community to this day. Professionalization of science, beginning in the 19th century, was partially made possible by the creation of scientific organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, and funding countries from universities in their respective countries. Public policy can directly affect the funding of capital equipment and intellectual infrastructure for industrial research by providing tax incentives to organizations that fund research. Vannevar Bush, director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development for the United States government, a pioneer of the National Science Foundation, wrote in July 1945 that "Science is the proper attention of the government."
Science and technology research is often funded through a competitive process in which potential research projects are evaluated and receive only the most promising funds. Such processes, run by governments, corporations, or foundations, allocate scarce funds. Total research funding in most developed countries is between 1.5% and 3% of GDP. In the OECD, about two-thirds of research and development in scientific and technical fields is undertaken by industries, and 20% and 10% are respectively by universities and governments. The proportion of government funding in certain industries is higher, and dominates research in the social sciences and humanities. Similarly, with some exceptions (eg biotechnology), the government provides most of the funds for basic scientific research. In commercial research and development, all research-oriented companies focus more on the possibility of short-term commercialization than "blue sky" ideas or technologies (such as nuclear fusion).
Political use
Many problems undermine science's relationship with the media and the use of science and scientific arguments by politicians. As a very general generalization, many politicians seek certainty and fact as scientists usually offer probabilities and warnings. However, the ability of politicians to be heard in the mass media often distorts the scientific understanding by the public. Examples in the UK include the controversy over MMR inoculation, and in 1988 forced the resignation of a Government Minister, Edwina Currie, for uncovering the high probability that battered egg batteries were contaminated with Salmonella .
John Horgan, Chris Mooney, and researchers from the US and Canada have explained the Scientific Certainty Assurance Method (SCAM), in which organizations or think tanks make it their sole purpose to cast doubt on supported science as opposed to the political agenda. Hank Campbell and microbiologist Alex Berezow have described the "good mistakes" used in politics, especially on the left, where politicians frame their positions in ways that make people feel comfortable in favor of certain policies even when scientific evidence shows no need worry or no need for dramatic changes to the current program.
Media perspectives
The mass media faces a number of pressures that can prevent them from accurately depicting competing scientific claims in terms of their credibility within the scientific community as a whole. Determining how much weight to give different sides to a scientific debate may require considerable expertise on this issue. Some journalists have real scientific knowledge, and even beat journalists who know a lot about certain scientific issues may not know about other scientific issues that they suddenly ask to shut down.
See also
Note
References
Source
Further reading
External links
- Publish
- " GCSE Science textbook ". Wikibooks.org
- Resources
- Euroscience:
- "ESOF: Euroscience Forum Open". Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. < span> Ã,
- Science Development at Latin American Docca
- Classification of Science in Historical Dictionary . (The new electronic format Dictionary is badly broken, entries after "Design" can not be accessed. old Internet Archive ).
- "Nature of Science" Museum of Paleontology University of California
- United States Science Initiative Selected science information is provided by US Government agencies, including research & amp; development results
- How science works Museum of Paleontology University of California
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments