• • • Science (from scientia, meaning 'knowledge'): 58 is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes in the form of testable and about the. Contemporary science is typically subdivided into the which study the, the which study people and societies, and the like mathematics. The formal sciences are often distinguished from the empirical sciences as the former does not depend on observations. Disciplines which use science like engineering and medicine may also be considered to be. Science is related to, and is normally organized by a, a, or a. From through the 19th century, science as a type of knowledge was more closely linked to than it is now and, in fact, in the the term ' encompassed fields of study that are today associated with science such as,,, among many others.: 3 In the 17th and 18th centuries scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of.

Science and Technology in Action (STA) annually produce a set of industry led lessons, designed to support the teaching of science and related subjects in second. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. CEE 370 Intro. & Water Resources Engr. Engineering Science Credits: 3.5. Engineering Design Credits:.5. Required or Elective course: Required Course. Catalog Description: With Lab. Introduction to environmental engineering with a focus on physical.

As a slow process over centuries, the word 'science' became increasingly associated with what is today known as the, a structured way to study the natural world. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Modern science In modern science, it is regarded as good scientific practice to aim for principles such as objectivity and reproducibility, which means that improvised methodology or bizarre interpretations should be downplayed, at least unless the scientist rightfully suspects a. It is seen as advantageous to not deviate too far from the, which nonetheless is far more stringently applied in e.g. The medical sciences than in.

The optimal way to conduct modern science is under constant debate in the. The English term 'science' often refers to a particularly formal kind of, whereas equivalent concepts in other languages may not distinguish as clearly between this and academic research. The acceptance of the influence of in modern science may differ between countries and between individual universities. Advances in modern science are sometimes used to develop new, but also examine limits to technological development. Main article: Science in a broad sense existed before the and in many historical. Is distinct in its and successful in its, so it now defines what science is in the strictest sense of the term. Science in its original sense was a word for a type of knowledge rather than a specialized word for the pursuit of such knowledge.

In particular, it was the type of knowledge which people can communicate to each other and share. For example, knowledge about the working of natural things was gathered long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought. This is shown by the construction of complex calendars, techniques for making poisonous plants edible, at national scale, such which those which harnessed the of the with reservoirs, dams, and dikes, and buildings such as. However, no consistent conscientious distinction was made between knowledge of such things, which are true in every community, and other types of communal knowledge, such as mythologies and legal systems. Known in some English-speaking countries as corn, is a large plant domesticated by in in Before the invention or discovery of the of ' ( ) by the, the same words tend to be used to describe the natural 'way' in which a plant grows, and the 'way' in which, for example, one tribe worships a particular god. For this reason, it is claimed these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense, and also the first people to clearly distinguish 'nature' and 'convention.'

: 209 Science was therefore distinguished as the knowledge of nature and things which are true for every community, and the name of the specialized pursuit of such knowledge was philosophy — the realm of the first philosopher-physicists. They were mainly speculators or, particularly interested in. In contrast, trying to use knowledge of nature to imitate nature (artifice or, Greek technē) was seen by classical scientists as a more appropriate interest for lower class artisans. The early of the, which was founded by and later continued by his successors and, were the first to attempt to explain without relying on the. The developed a complex number philosophy: 467-468 and contributed significantly to the development of mathematical science.: 465 The was developed by the Greek philosopher and his student.

The Greek doctor established the tradition of systematic medical science and is known as '. Aristotle, 384–322 BCE, one of the early figures in the development of the A turning point in the history of early philosophical science was ' example of applying philosophy to the study of human things, including human nature, the nature of political communities, and human knowledge itself. The as documented by 's dialogues is a method of hypothesis elimination: better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. This was a reaction to the emphasis on. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape beliefs and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. Socrates criticized the older type of study of physics as too purely speculative and lacking in self-criticism.

Socrates was later, in the words of his Apology, accused 'because he corrupts the youth and does not believe in the gods the state believes in, but in other new spiritual beings'. Socrates refuted these claims, but was sentenced to death.: 30e later created a systematic programme of philosophy: Motion and change is described as the actualization of potentials already in things, according to what types of things they are. In his physics, the sun goes around the earth, and many things have it as part of their nature that they are for humans.

Each thing has a, a, and a role in a cosmic order with an. While the Socratics insisted that philosophy should be used to consider the practical question of the best way to live for a human being (a study Aristotle divided into and ), they did not argue for any other types of.

Aristotle maintained that man knows a thing scientifically 'when he possesses a conviction arrived at in a certain way, and when the first principles on which that conviction rests are known to him with certainty'. The Greek astronomer (310-230 BCE) was the first to propose the of the universe, with the in the center and all the planets orbiting it. Aristarchus's model was widely rejected because it was believed to violate the laws of physics, but the inventor and mathematician defended it in.

Archimedes himself made major contributions to the beginnings of and has sometimes been credited as its inventor, although his proto-calculus lacked several defining features. Was a Roman writer and polymath, who wrote the seminal encyclopedia, dealing with history, geography, medicine, astronomy, earth science, botany, and zoology. Other scientists or proto-scientists in Antiquity were,,,,, and. Medieval science. Further information: During and the, the Aristotelian approach to inquiries on natural phenomena was used. Aristotle's prescribed that four 'why' questions should be answered in order to explain things scientifically.

Some ancient knowledge was lost, or in some cases kept in obscurity, during the fall of the Roman Empire and periodic political struggles. However, the general fields of science (or ' as it was called) and much of the general knowledge from the ancient world remained preserved through the works of the early Latin encyclopedists like. However, Aristotle's original texts were eventually lost in Western Europe, and only one text by Plato was widely known, the, which was 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 's, which contains a geocentric description of the solar system. In the, many Greek science texts were preserved in translations done by groups such as the Nestorians and Monophysites. Many of these were later on translated into Arabic under the, during which many types of classical learning were preserved and in some cases improved upon.

The was established in -era,, where the Islamic study of flourished. (801–873) was the first of the Muslim philosophers, and is known for his efforts to introduce and to the. The flourished form this time until the of the 13th century. (Alhazen), as well as his predecessor, was familiar with Ptolemy's, and used experiments as a means to gain knowledge.: 463–5 In the later medieval period, the first universities started emerging in Europe, and demand for Latin translations grew (for example, from the ), western Europeans began collecting texts written not only in Latin, but also Latin translations from Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew. Manuscript copies of Alhazen's also propagated across Europe before 1240,: Intro. P.xx as evidenced by its incorporation into Vitello's. In particular, the texts of Aristotle,, and, preserved in the Houses of Wisdom, were sought amongst Catholic scholars.

The influx of ancient texts caused the and the flourishing of a synthesis of and known as in, which became a new geographic center of science. An experiment in this period would be understood as a careful process of observing, describing, and classifying. One prominent scientist in this era was.

Scholasticism had a strong focus on revelation and, and gradually fell out of favour over the next centuries. Renaissance and early modern science. 216) noted the optic chiasm is X-shaped. (Engraving from, 1543) Alhazen disproved Ptolemy's theory of vision, but did not make any corresponding changes to Aristotle's metaphysics. The scientific revolution ran concurrently to a process where elements of Aristotle's metaphysics such as ethics, teleology and formal causality slowly fell out of favour. Scholars slowly came to realize that the universe itself might well be devoid of both purpose and ethical imperatives. Many of the restrictions described by Aristotle and later favoured by the Catholic Church were thus challenged.

This development from a physics infused with goals, ethics, and spirit, toward a physics where these elements do not play an integral role, took centuries. (1525) Man drawing a lute, using techniques, as well as Alhazen's technique of taut strings to visualize a.

New developments in optics played a role in the inception of the Renaissance, both by challenging long-held metaphysical ideas on perception, as well as by contributing to the improvement and development of technology such as the and the. Before what we now know as the Renaissance started,,, and each built up a scholastic ontology upon a causal chain beginning with sensation, perception, and finally apperception of the individual and universal of Aristotle. A model of vision later known as perspectivism was by the artists of the Renaissance.

This theory utilizes only three of Aristotle's: formal, material, and final. Father of modern science.: Vol. 36 In the sixteenth century, formulated a model of the solar system unlike the of 's. This was based on a theorem that the of the planets are longer as their orbs are farther from the centre of motion, which he found not to agree with Ptolemy's model. And others challenged the notion that the only function of the eye is perception, and shifted the main focus in optics from the eye to the propagation of light.: 102 Kepler modelled the eye as a water-filled glass sphere with an aperture in front of it to model the entrance pupil.

He found that all the light from a single point of the scene was imaged at a single point at the back of the glass sphere. The optical chain ends on the retina at the back of the eye.

Kepler is best known, however, for improving Copernicus' heliocentric model through the discovery of. Kepler did not reject Aristotelian metaphysics, and described his work as a search for the.

Made innovative use of experiment and mathematics. However, he became persecuted after Pope Urban VIII blessed Galileo to write about the Copernican system. Galileo had used arguments from the Pope and put them in the voice of the simpleton in the work 'Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems,' which greatly offended him. In Northern Europe, the new technology of the was widely used to publish many arguments, including some that disagreed widely with contemporary ideas of nature.

And published philosophical arguments in favor of a new type of non-Aristotelian science. Descartes emphasized individual thought and argued that mathematics rather than geometry should be used in order to study nature. Bacon emphasized the importance of experiment over contemplation.

Bacon further questioned the Aristotelian concepts of formal cause and final cause, and promoted the idea that science should study the laws of 'simple' natures, such as heat, rather than assuming that there is any specific nature, or ',' of each complex type of thing. This new modern science began to see itself as describing '. This updated approach to studies in nature was seen as.

Bacon also argued that science should aim for the first time at practical inventions for the improvement of all human life. Age of Enlightenment. In 1854, by then working towards publication of Both and systematized methodology: the latter coined the term. When published he proposed as an explanation of biological complexity. His theory of sought to explain the process by which certain survived and others did not. The laws of, and suggested a highly stable universe where there could be little loss of resources.

With the advent of the steam engine and the, there was, however, an increased understanding that all forms of energy as defined by Newton were not equally useful; they did not have the same. This realization led to the development of the laws of, in which the cumulative energy quality of the universe is seen as constantly declining: the of the universe increases over time.

The was also established in the 19th century, and raised new questions which could not easily be answered using Newton's framework. The phenomena that would allow the deconstruction of the were discovered in the last decade of the 19th century: the discovery of inspired the discovery of.

In the next year came the discovery of the first subatomic particle, the. A simulated event in the CMS detector of the, featuring a possible appearance of the 's and the development of led to the replacement of classical mechanics with a new physics which contains two parts that describe different types of events in nature. In the first half of the century, the development of and made global human possible. At the same time, the structure of the atom and its nucleus was discovered, leading to the release of ' (). In addition, the extensive use of technological innovation stimulated by the wars of this century led to revolutions in transportation ( and ), the development of, a, and a.

The molecular structure of was discovered in 1953. The discovery of the in 1964 led to a rejection of the of the universe in favour of the theory of. The development of in the second half of the century allowed the first astronomical measurements done on or near other objects in space, including. Lead to numerous discoveries in astronomy and cosmology. Widespread use of in the last quarter of the 20th century combined with led to a revolution in and the rise of the global and, including. The need for mass systematization of long, intertwined causal chains and large amounts of data led to the rise of the fields of and computer-assisted, which are partly based on the Aristotelian paradigm.

Harmful such as,, and came to the public's attention in the same period, and caused the onset of and. In a 1967 article, blamed the ecological crisis on the historical decline of the notion of spirit in nature. 21st century With the discovery of the in 2012, the last particle predicted by the of particle physics was found. In 2015,, predicted by a century before, were. Scientific method. Main article: The seeks to explain the events of in a way. An explanatory or is put forward as explanation using principles such as parsimony (also known as ') and are generally expected to seek —fitting well with other accepted facts related to the phenomena.

This new explanation is used to make predictions that are testable by experiment or observation. The predictions are to be posted before a confirming experiment or observation is sought, as proof that no tampering has occurred. Disproof of a prediction is evidence of progress.

This is done partly through observation of natural phenomena, but also through experimentation that tries to simulate natural events under controlled conditions as appropriate to the discipline (in the observational sciences, such as astronomy or geology, a predicted observation might take the place of a controlled experiment). Experimentation is especially important in science to help establish (to avoid the ).

When a hypothesis proves unsatisfactory, it is either modified or discarded. If the hypothesis survived testing, it may become adopted into the framework of a, a logically reasoned, self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of certain natural phenomena. A theory typically describes the behavior of much broader sets of phenomena than a hypothesis; commonly, a large number of hypotheses can be logically bound together by a single theory. Thus a theory is a hypothesis explaining various other hypotheses. In that vein, theories are formulated according to most of the same scientific principles as hypotheses.

In addition to testing hypotheses, scientists may also generate a, an attempt to describe or depict the phenomenon in terms of a logical, physical or mathematical representation and to generate new hypotheses that can be tested, based on observable phenomena. While performing experiments to test hypotheses, scientists may have a preference for one outcome over another, and so it is important to ensure that science as a whole can eliminate this bias. This can be achieved by careful, transparency, and a thorough process of the experimental results as well as any conclusions. After the results of an experiment are announced or published, it is normal practice for independent researchers to double-check how the research was performed, and to follow up by performing similar experiments to determine how dependable the results might be. Taken in its entirety, the scientific method allows for highly creative problem solving while minimizing any effects of subjective bias on the part of its users (especially the ). Mathematics and formal sciences. Calculus, the mathematics of continuous change, underpins many of the sciences.

Is essential to the sciences. One important function of mathematics in science is the role it plays in the expression of scientific models. Observing and collecting, as well as hypothesizing and predicting, often require extensive use of mathematics. For example,,,,, and are all essential to. Virtually every branch of mathematics has applications in science, including 'pure' areas such as and., which are mathematical techniques for summarizing and analyzing data, allow scientists to assess the level of reliability and the range of variation in experimental results. Statistical analysis plays a fundamental role in many areas of both the natural sciences and social sciences.

Applies computing power to simulate real-world situations, enabling a better understanding of scientific problems than formal mathematics alone can achieve. According to the, computation is now as important as theory and experiment in advancing scientific knowledge.

Other formal sciences include,, and. Such sciences involve the study of well defined abstract systems and depend heavily on mathematics. They do not involve empirical procedures, their results are derived logically from their definitions and are in nature. Parts of the natural and social sciences which are based on empirical results but which depend heavily on mathematical development include,,, and. Whether mathematics itself is properly classified as science has been a matter of some debate. Some thinkers see mathematicians as scientists, regarding physical experiments as inessential or mathematical proofs as equivalent to experiments. Others do not see mathematics as a science because it does not require an experimental test of its theories and hypotheses.

Mathematical and are obtained by derivations which presume systems, rather than the combination of and logical reasoning that has come to be known as the. In general, mathematics is classified as, while natural and social sciences are classified as sciences. Scientific community.

The is located throughout our bodies but is integrated in the. Scientific fields are commonly divided into two major groups:, which study natural phenomena (including ), and, which study and. These are both sciences, which means their knowledge must be based on observable and capable of being tested for its validity by other researchers working under the same conditions. There are also related disciplines that are grouped into interdisciplinary, such as and.

Within these categories are specialized scientific fields that can include parts of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own and expertise., which is classified as a, has both similarities and differences with the empirical sciences (the natural and social sciences). It is similar to empirical sciences in that it involves an objective, careful and systematic study of an area of knowledge; it is different because of its method of verifying its knowledge, using rather than empirical methods. The formal sciences, which also include and, are vital to the empirical sciences. Major advances in formal science have often led to major advances in the empirical sciences. The formal sciences are essential in the formation of,, and, both in discovering and describing how things work (natural sciences) and how people think and act (social sciences).

Apart from its broad meaning, the word 'science' sometimes may specifically refer to (maths and natural sciences) alone. Science schools or faculties within many institutions are separate from those for medicine or engineering, each of which is an. Institutions for the communication and promotion of scientific thought and experimentation have existed since the period.

The oldest surviving institution is the Italian which was established in 1603. The respective National are distinguished institutions that exist in a number of countries, beginning with the British in 1660 and the French in 1666. International scientific organizations, such as the, have since been formed to promote cooperation between the scientific communities of different nations.

Many governments have dedicated agencies to support scientific research. Prominent scientific organizations include the in the, the in Argentina, in Australia, in France, the and in Germany, and in Spain. Main article: An enormous range of is published. Communicate and document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions, serving as an archival record of science. The first scientific journals, followed by the, began publication in 1665. Since that time the total number of active periodicals has steadily increased.

In 1981, one estimate for the number of scientific and technical journals in publication was 11,500. The currently indexes 5,516 journals that contain articles on topics related to the life sciences. Although the journals are in 39 languages, 91 percent of the indexed articles are published in English. Most scientific journals cover a single scientific field and publish the research within that field; the research is normally expressed in the form of a.

Science has become so pervasive in modern societies that it is generally considered necessary to communicate the achievements, news, and ambitions of scientists to a wider populace. Such as,, and cater to the needs of a much wider readership and provide a non-technical summary of popular areas of research, including notable discoveries and advances in certain fields of research. Engage the interest of many more people. Tangentially, the genre, primarily fantastic in nature, engages the public imagination and transmits the ideas, if not the methods, of science. Recent efforts to intensify or develop links between science and non-scientific disciplines such as or more specifically,, include the Creative Writing Science resource developed through the.

Science and society. Was the first person to be awarded two: in 1903 and in 1911 Science has historically been a male-dominated field, with some notable exceptions. Women faced considerable discrimination in science, much as they did in other areas of male-dominated societies, such as frequently being passed over for job opportunities and denied credit for their work.

For example, (1847–1930) was able to enter a PhD program as 'C. Ladd'; Christine 'Kitty' Ladd completed the requirements in 1882, but was awarded her degree only in 1926, after a career which spanned the algebra of logic (see ), color vision, and psychology. Her work preceded notable researchers like and.

The achievements of women in science have been attributed to their defiance of their traditional role as laborers within the. In the late 20th century, active recruitment of women and elimination of institutional discrimination on the basis of sex greatly increased the number of women scientists, but large gender disparities remain in some fields; over half of new biologists are female, while 80% of PhDs in physics are given to men. [ ] Feminists claim this is the result of culture rather than an innate difference between the sexes, and some experiments have shown that parents challenge and explain more to boys than girls, asking them to reflect more deeply and logically.: 258–61. In the early part of the 21st century, in America, women earned 50.3% bachelor's degrees, 45.6% master's degrees, and 40.7% of PhDs in science and engineering fields with women earning more than half of the degrees in three fields: Psychology (about 70%), Social Sciences (about 50%), and Biology (about 50-60%). However, when it comes to the Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Math, Engineering, and Computer Science, women earned less than half the degrees. However, lifestyle choice also plays a major role in female engagement in science; women with young children are 28% less likely to take tenure-track positions due to work-life balance issues, and female graduate students' interest in careers in research declines dramatically over the course of graduate school, whereas that of their male colleagues remains unchanged. Science policy.

President Clinton meets the 1998 U.S. Winners in the White House Science policy is an area of concerned with the policies that affect the conduct of the scientific enterprise, including, often in pursuance of other national policy goals such as technological innovation to promote commercial product development, weapons development, health care and environmental monitoring. Science policy also refers to the act of applying scientific knowledge and consensus to the development of public policies. Science policy thus deals with the entire domain of issues that involve the natural sciences.

In accordance with being concerned about the well-being of its citizens, science policy's goal is to consider how science and technology can best serve the public. Has influenced the funding of (such as the civil engineering works in of (孫叔敖 7th c. BCE), (西門豹 5th c.BCE), and Shi Chi (4th c. BCE) ) and science for thousands of years. These works date at least from the time of the, who inspired the study of logic during the period of the, and the study of defensive fortifications (such as the, which took 2000 years to complete) during the in China. In, governmental approval of in the 17th century recognized a which exists to this day.

The professionalization of science, begun in the 19th century, was partly enabled by the creation of scientific organizations such as the, the, and state funding of universities of their respective nations. Public policy can directly affect the funding of and intellectual infrastructure for industrial research by providing tax incentives to those organizations that fund research., director of the for the United States government, the forerunner of the, wrote in July 1945 that 'Science is a proper concern of government.' Research is often funded through a competitive process in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most promising receive funding. Such processes, which are run by government, corporations, or foundations, allocate scarce funds. Total research funding in most is between 1.5% and 3% of.

In the, around two-thirds of in scientific and technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20% and 10% respectively by and government. The government funding proportion in certain industries is higher, and it dominates research in and. Similarly, with some exceptions (e.g. Reln Worm Factory Instruction Manual.

) government provides the bulk of the funds for. In commercial research and development, all but the most research-oriented corporations focus more heavily on near-term commercialisation possibilities rather than ' ideas or technologies (such as ). Media perspectives The face 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 in a may require considerable expertise regarding the matter.

Few journalists have real scientific knowledge, and even who know a great deal about certain scientific issues may be ignorant about other scientific issues that they are suddenly asked to cover. Political usage. See also: Many issues damage the relationship of science to the media and the use of science and scientific arguments. As a very broad generalisation, many politicians seek certainties and facts whilst scientists typically offer probabilities and caveats. However, politicians' ability to be heard in the frequently distorts the scientific understanding by the public. Examples in the include the controversy over the, and the 1988 forced resignation of a Government Minister,, for revealing the high probability that farmed eggs were contaminated with.,, and researchers from the US and Canada have described Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs), where an organization or think tank makes it their only goal to cast doubt on supported science because it conflicts with political agendas. Hank Campbell and microbiologist Alex Berezow have described 'feel-good fallacies' used in politics, especially on the left, where politicians frame their positions in a way that makes people feel good about supporting certain policies even when scientific evidence shows there is no need to worry or there is no need for dramatic change on current programs.: Vol.

2–38 Science and the public Various activities are developed to facilitate communication between the general public and science/scientists, such as,,,,,,, and. See for related concepts. Science is represented by the 'S' in. Philosophy of science. See also: Working scientists usually take for granted a set of basic assumptions that are 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 natural laws; (3) that these laws can be discovered by means of systematic observation and experimentation.

Philosophy of science seeks a deep understanding of what these underlying assumptions mean and whether they are valid. The belief that scientific theories should and do represent reality is known as.

It can be contrasted with, the view that the success of science does not depend on it being accurate about unobservable entities such as. One form of anti-realism is, the belief that the mind or is the most basic essence, and that each mind generates its own reality. In an idealistic, what is true for one mind need not be true for other minds. Is a work by Archimedes in which he sets out to determine an upper bound for the number of grains of sand that fit into the universe. In order to do this, he had to estimate the size of the universe according to the contemporary model, and invent a way to analyze extremely large numbers. There are different schools of thought in philosophy of science. The most popular position is, which holds that knowledge is created by a process involving observation and that scientific theories are the result of generalizations from such observations.

Empiricism generally encompasses, a position that tries to explain the way general theories can be justified by the finite number of observations humans can make and hence the finite amount of empirical evidence available to confirm scientific theories. This is necessary because the number of predictions those theories make is infinite, which means that they cannot be known from the finite amount of evidence using only. Many versions of empiricism exist, with the predominant ones being and the.: 236 Empiricism has stood in contrast to, the position originally associated with, which holds that knowledge is created by the human intellect, not by observation.: 20 is a contrasting 20th-century approach to science, first defined by Austrian-British philosopher. Popper rejected the way that empiricism describes the connection between theory and observation.

He claimed that theories are not generated by observation, but that observation is made in the light of theories and that the only way a theory can be affected by observation is when it comes in conflict with it.: 63–67 Popper proposed replacing verifiability with as the landmark of scientific theories and replacing induction with as the empirical method.: 68 Popper further claimed that there is actually only one universal method, not specific to science: the negative method of criticism,. It covers all products of the human mind, including science, mathematics, philosophy, and art. Another approach,, colloquially termed 'shut up and multiply,' emphasizes the utility of theories as instruments for explaining and predicting phenomena. It views scientific theories as black boxes with only their input (initial conditions) and output (predictions) being relevant. Consequences, theoretical entities, and logical structure are claimed to be something that should simply be ignored and that scientists shouldn't make a fuss about (see ).

Close to instrumentalism is, according to which the main criterion for the success of a scientific theory is whether what it says about observable entities is true. Advanced the idea of, which holds that there are no useful and exception-free governing the or the growth of and that the idea that science can or should operate according to universal and fixed rules are unrealistic, pernicious and detrimental to science itself. Feyerabend advocates treating science as an alongside others such as,, and, and considers the dominance of science in society and unjustified. He also contended (along with ) [ ] that the of distinguishing science from on objective grounds is not possible and thus fatal to the notion of science running according to fixed, universal rules. Feyerabend also stated that science does not have evidence for its philosophical precepts, particularly the notion of. Finally, another approach often cited in debates of against controversial movements like ' is. Its main point is that a difference between natural and explanations should be made and that science should be restricted methodologically to natural explanations.

That the restriction is merely methodological (rather than ontological) means that science should not consider supernatural explanations itself, but should not claim them to be wrong either. Instead, supernatural explanations should be left a matter of personal belief. Methodological naturalism maintains that proper science requires strict adherence to study and independent verification as a process for properly developing and evaluating explanations for phenomena. The absence of these standards,, biased and other common are frequently cited by supporters of methodological naturalism as characteristic of the non-science they criticize. Certainty and science. The is a that encodes the instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living and many.

A scientific theory is and is always open to if new evidence is presented. That is, no theory is ever considered strictly as science accepts the concept of.

The philosopher of science sharply distinguished truth from certainty. He wrote that scientific knowledge 'consists in the search for truth,' but it 'is not the search for certainty. All human knowledge is fallible and therefore uncertain.' : 4 New scientific knowledge rarely results in vast changes in our understanding. According to psychologist, it may be the media's overuse of words like 'breakthrough' that leads the public to imagine that science is constantly proving everything it thought was true to be false.: 119–38 While there are such famous cases as the that required a complete reconceptualization, these are extreme exceptions. Knowledge in science is gained by a gradual synthesis of information from different experiments by various across different branches of science; it is more like a climb than a leap.: 123 Theories vary in the extent to which they have been tested and verified, as well as their acceptance in the scientific community. For example,,,, and still bear the name 'theory' even though, in practice, they are considered.

Philosopher adds that, although the best definition for ' is contested, being and entertaining the possibility that one is incorrect is compatible with being correct. Ironically, then, the scientist adhering to proper scientific approaches will doubt themselves even once they possess the. The argued that inquiry is the struggle to resolve actual doubt and that merely quarrelsome, verbal, or is fruitless —but also that the inquirer should try to attain genuine doubt rather than resting uncritically on common sense. He held that the successful sciences trust not to any single chain of inference (no stronger than its weakest link) but to the cable of multiple and various arguments intimately connected.

Stanovich also asserts that science avoids searching for a 'magic bullet'; it avoids the. This means a scientist would not ask merely 'What is the cause of.' , but rather 'What are the most significant causes of.' This is especially the case in the more macroscopic fields of science (e.g., ).: 141–47 Of course, often analyzes few factors at once, but these are always added to the long list of factors that are most important to consider.: 141–47 For example, knowing the details of only a person's genetics, or their history and upbringing, or the current situation may not explain a behavior, but a deep understanding of all these variables combined can be very predictive. Fringe science, pseudoscience, and junk science An area of study or speculation that masquerades as science in an attempt to claim a legitimacy that it would not otherwise be able to achieve is sometimes referred to as,,. Physicist coined the term ' for cases in which researchers believe they are doing science because their activities have the outward appearance of science but actually lack the 'kind of utter honesty' that allows their results to be rigorously evaluated.

Various types of commercial advertising, ranging from hype to fraud, may fall into these categories. There can also be an element of political or ideological bias on all sides of scientific debates. Sometimes, research may be characterized as 'bad science,' research that may be well-intended but is actually incorrect, obsolete, incomplete, or over-simplified expositions of scientific ideas.

The term ' refers to situations such as where researchers have intentionally misrepresented their published data or have purposely given credit for a discovery to the wrong person. Scientific practice. Became much more after devised his for measuring angles between two, before the invention of the telescope.

Were the basis for. Although encyclopedias such as Pliny's (fl. 77 AD) offered purported fact, they proved unreliable. A skeptical point of view, demanding a method of proof, was the practical position taken to deal with unreliable knowledge. As early as 1000 years ago, scholars such as ( ),,,, Francis Bacon (1605), and (1839–1914) provided the to address these points of uncertainty. In particular, fallacious reasoning can be exposed, such as '.' 'If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.'

—, ', Book 1, v, 8 The methods of into a problem have been known for thousands of years, and extend beyond theory to practice. The use of, for example, is a practical approach to settle disputes in the community.

Points out that is fundamental to the creation of all scientific knowledge.: 44 Ziman shows how scientists can identify patterns to each other across centuries; he refers to this ability as 'perceptual consensibility.' : 46 He then makes consensibility, leading to consensus, the touchstone of reliable knowledge.: 104 Basic and applied research. Anthropogenic has an effect on the Earth's environment and Although some scientific research is into specific problems, a great deal of our understanding comes from the curiosity-driven undertaking of.

This leads to options for technological advance that were not planned or sometimes even imaginable. This point was made by Michael Faraday when allegedly in response to the question 'what is the use of basic research?' He responded: 'Sir, what is the use of a new-born child?' For example, research into the effects of red light on the human eye's did not seem to have any practical purpose; eventually, the discovery that our is not troubled by red light would lead teams (among others) to adopt red light in the cockpits of jets and helicopters.: 106–10 In a nutshell, 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 unexpected turns, and there is some sense in which the scientific method is built to. Research in practice Due to the increasing complexity of information and specialization of scientists, most of the cutting-edge research today is done by well-funded groups of scientists, rather than individuals. Simonton notes that due to the breadth of very precise and far reaching tools already used by researchers today and the amount of research generated so far, creation of new disciplines or revolutions within a discipline may no longer be possible as it is unlikely that some phenomenon that merits its own discipline has been overlooked.

Hybridizing of disciplines and finessing knowledge is, in his view, the future of science. Practical impacts of scientific research Discoveries in fundamental science can be world-changing. For example: Research Impact and ( c. 1600) (18th century) All electric appliances, dynamos, electric power stations, modern, including,,,,,,, and the and. (1665), hence cable (1840s), modern, and and internet (1700), leading to decreased transmission of infectious diseases;, leading to techniques for disease diagnosis and anticancer therapies. (1798) Leading to the elimination of most infectious diseases from developed countries and the worldwide eradication of. (1839) (1883), hence, solar powered, and other devices.

The strange orbit of (1859) and other research leading to (1905) and (1916) Satellite-based technology such as (1973), and (1887) Radio had become used in innumerable ways beyond its better-known areas of, and (1927) and (1906). Other uses included –, ( and ),,,,, and. Radio waves also led researchers to adjacent frequencies such as, used worldwide for heating and cooking food. (1896) and (1932) treatment (1896), (1905), (1942) and (1945),, (1961), and (via ) (1896), including and (1900) (1906), hence modern and including the integration with wireless devices: the, and. (1907) Starting with, many types of artificial polymers for numerous applications in industry and daily life (1880s, 1928),, etc. (1930s) (1946), (1971), (1990s).

• '. modern science is a discovery as well as an invention. It was a discovery that nature generally acts regularly enough to be described by laws and even by; and required invention to devise the techniques, abstractions, apparatus, and organization for exhibiting the regularities and securing their law-like descriptions.' Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary., Inc. Retrieved October 16, 2011. 3 a: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b: such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena. • Isaac Newton's (1687), for example, is translated 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy', and reflects the then-current use of the words ', akin to 'systematic study of nature' • 'The historian. Requires a very broad definition of 'science' — one that.

Will help us to understand the modern scientific enterprise. We need to be broad and inclusive, rather than narrow and exclusive. And we should expect that the farther back we go [in time] the broader we will need to be.' — (1992), 'Hellenophilia versus the History of Science' Isis 83 554–63, as cited in (, p. 3), The beginnings of Western science: the European Scientific tradition in philosophical, religious, and institutional context, Second ed. Chicago: Univ. Of Chicago Press • See Grant, Edward (1 January 1997).

'History of Science: When Did Modern Science Begin?' The American Scholar. 66 (1): 105–13.. • •, Mesopotamia •, Egypt • • • Alhacen had access to the optics books of Euclid and Ptolemy, as is shown by the title of his lost work A Book in which I have Summarized the Science of Optics from the Two Books of Euclid and Ptolemy, to which I have added the Notions of the First Discourse which is Missing from Ptolemy's Book From 's catalog, as cited in (): 91(vol.1), p. Xv • '[Ibn al-Haytham] followed Ptolemy's bridge building. Into a grand synthesis of light and vision.

Part of his effort consisted in devising ranges of experiments, of a kind probed before but now undertaken on larger scale.' —, p. 59 • The translator, (c. 1114–87), inspired by his love of the, came to Toledo, where he knew he could find the Almagest in Arabic. There he found Arabic books of every description, and learned Arabic in order to translate these books into Latin, being aware of 'the poverty of the Latins'. —As cited by Charles Burnett (2001) 'The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century', pp. 250, 255, 257, Science in Context 14(1/2), 249–88 (2001).: • Kepler, Johannes (1604) Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, quibus astronomiae pars opticae traditur (Supplements to Witelo, in which the optical part of astronomy is treated) as cited in Smith, A.

Mark (1 January 2004). 'What Is the History of Medieval Optics Really about?' Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 148 (2): 180–94... • The full title translation is from p. 60 of James R.

Voelkel (2001) Johannes Kepler and the New Astronomy Oxford University Press. Kepler was driven to this experiment after observing the partial solar eclipse at Graz, July 10, 1600. He used Tycho Brahe's method of observation, which was to project the image of the sun on a piece of paper through a pinhole aperture, instead of looking directly at the sun. He disagreed with Brahe's conclusion that total eclipses of the sun were impossible, because there were historical accounts of total eclipses. Instead he deduced that the size of the aperture controls the sharpness of the projected image (the larger the aperture, the more accurate the image — this fact is now fundamental for optical system design).

61, notes that Kepler's experiments produced the first correct account of vision and the eye, because he realized he could not accurately write about astronomical observation by ignoring the eye. •, p. 13: 'The amazing point is that for the first time since the discovery of mathematics, a method has been introduced, the results of which have an intersubjective value!' (Author's punctuation) •, pp. 4–5: 'One learns in a laboratory; one learns how to make experiments only by experimenting, and one learns how to work with his hands only by using them. The first and fundamental form of experimentation in physics is to teach young people to work with their hands. Then they should be taken into a laboratory and taught to work with measuring instruments — each student carrying out real experiments in physics.

This form of teaching is indispensable and cannot be read in a book.' •, p. 204: 'Whatever their discipline, scientists claimed to share a common scientific method that. Distinguished them from non-scientists.' • Women in science have included: • (c. 350–415 CE), of the. • of Salerno, a physician c.

•, one of the first professional astronomers of the 18th and 19th centuries. •, a doctoral student of, who published 's proposition 5.101 in her dissertation, 40 years before Wittgenstein's publication of.

•, a professional human computer and astronomer, who first published the significant relationship between the luminosity of stars and their distance from Earth. This allowed Hubble to make the discovery of the, which led to the. •, who proved the and other in 1915.

•, who made discoveries relating to radioactivity along with her husband, and for whom is named. •, who worked with X-ray diffraction.

•, which provides details on 83 female physicists of the 20th century. By 1976, more women were physicists, and the 83 who were detailed were joined by other women in noticeably larger numbers. • This realization is the topic of, as recounted, for example, by (1949, 1965), who points out that all knowledge, including natural or social science, is also subjective.

162: 'Thus it dawned upon me that fundamentally everything is subjective, everything without exception. That was a shock.'

• ^ In his investigation of the, (1638) serves as example for scientific investigation: 'A piece of wooden moulding or scantling, about 12 cubits long, half a cubit wide, and three finger-breadths thick, was taken; on its edge was cut a channel a little more than one finger in breadth; having made this groove very straight, smooth, and polished, and having lined it with parchment, also as smooth and polished as possible, we rolled along it a hard, smooth, and very round bronze ball. Having placed this board in a sloping position, by lifting one end some one or two cubits above the other, we rolled the ball, as I was just saying, along the channel, noting, in a manner presently to be described, the time required to make the descent. Now rolled the ball only one-quarter the length of the channel; and having measured the time of its descent, we found it precisely one-half of the former. Next we tried other distances, comparing the time for the whole length with that for the half, or with that for two-thirds, or three-fourths, or indeed for any fraction; in such experiments, repeated many, many, times.' Galileo solved the problem of time measurement by weighing a jet of water collected during the descent of the bronze ball, as stated in his Two New Sciences.

•, p. 151 credits (1969) 'Epistemology Naturalized' Ontological Relativity and Other Essays New York: Columbia University Press, as well as, with the basic ideas of naturalism —, but Godfrey-Smith diverges from Quine's position: according to Godfrey-Smith, 'A naturalist can think that science can contribute to answers to philosophical questions, without thinking that philosophical questions can be replaced by science questions.' • 'No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.' —, noted by Alice Calaprice (ed. 2005) The New Quotable Einstein Princeton University Press and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, p. Calaprice denotes this not as an exact quotation, but as a paraphrase of a translation of A.

Einstein's 'Induction and Deduction'. Collected Papers of Albert Einstein 7 Document 28. Volume 7 is The Berlin Years: Writings, 1918–1921.

Schulmann, et al., eds. Trenn, Thaddeus J.; Merton, Robert K, eds. Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.. Claims that before a specific fact 'existed', it had to be created as part of a social agreement within a community. (1980) 'A view of scientific thought' Science ccvii (Mar 7, 1980) 1065–66 states '[To Fleck,] facts are invented, not discovered.

Moreover, the appearance of scientific facts as discovered things is itself a social construction: a made thing. ' • ' Pseudoscientific – pretending to be scientific, falsely represented as being scientific', from the Oxford American Dictionary, published by the; Hansson, Sven Ove (1996).'

Defining Pseudoscience', Philosophia Naturalis, 33: 169–176, as cited in (2008) in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Stanford article states: 'Many writers on pseudoscience have emphasized that pseudoscience is non-science posing as science. The foremost modern classic on the subject (Gardner 1957) bears the title. According to Brian Baigrie (1988, 438), '[w]hat is objectionable about these beliefs is that they masquerade as genuinely scientific ones.'

These and many other authors assume that to be pseudoscientific, an activity or a teaching has to satisfy the following two criteria (Hansson 1996): (1) it is not scientific, and (2) its major proponents try to create the impression that it is scientific'. • For example, Hewitt et al. Conceptual Physical Science Addison Wesley; 3 edition (July 18, 2003), Bennett et al. The Cosmic Perspective 3e Addison Wesley; 3 edition (July 25, 2003); See also, e.g., Gauch HG Jr. Scientific Method in Practice (2003).

• A 2006 report on Science and engineering indicators quoted 's (1997) definition of pseudoscience: 'claims presented so that they appear [to be] scientific even though they lack supporting evidence and plausibility'(p. In contrast, science is 'a set of methods designed to describe and interpret observed and inferred phenomena, past or present, and aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejection or confirmation'(p. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. Freeman and Company..

As cited by National Science Board., Division of Science Resources Statistics (2006). 'Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding'.. Archived from on February 1, 2013. • 'A pretended or spurious science; a collection of related beliefs about the world mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method or as having the status that scientific truths now have,' from the, second edition 1989. • ^, March 26, 2004,. 'Both [relativity and quantum mechanics] are extremely successful. The Global Positioning System (GPS), for instance, wouldn't be possible without the theory of relativity.

Computers, telecommunications, and the Internet, meanwhile, are spin-offs of quantum mechanics.' • Augros, Robert M., Stanciu, George N., The New Story of Science: mind and the universe, Lake Bluff, Ill.: Regnery Gateway, c1984. The structure of evil; an essay on the unification of the science of man.

C., Things your teacher never told you about science: Nine shocking revelations,, March 23, 1986, pp. 21+ • Crease, Robert P. World in the Balance: the historic quest for an absolute system of measurement. New York: W.W. • Feyerabend, Paul (2005).

Science, history of the philosophy, as cited in Honderich, Ted (2005). The Oxford companion to philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press... • Feynman, Richard P.

Robbins, Jeffrey, ed. The pleasure of finding things out the best short works of Richard P. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books.. • Feynman, R.P. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Perseus Books Group...

• Feynman, Richard • Gaukroger, Stephen (2006). The Emergence of a Scientific Culture: Science and the Shaping of Modernity 1210–1685. Oxford: Oxford University Press..

• Gopnik, Alison,,, Winter 2004. • Krige, John, and Dominique Pestre, eds., Science in the Twentieth Century, Routledge 2003, • (2008). Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy. New York, Encounter Books. Theories of Vision from al-Kindi to Kepler. Chicago: Univ. Of Chicago Pr.

• William F., McComas (1998). 'The principal elements of the nature of science: Dispelling the myths'. In McComas, William F. ': Introductory Orientations'.

Cambridge University Press. • Obler, Paul C.; Estrin, Herman A. The New Scientist: Essays on the Methods and Values of Modern Science., Doubleday. Science, problems of the philosophy of., as cited in Honderich, Ted (2005). The Oxford companion to philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press... 'Simultaneity and Sequencing in the Oracular Speech of Kenyan Diviners'.

African Divination Systems: Ways of Knowing. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press.

• Russell, Bertrand (1985) [1952]. The Impact of Science on Society. London: Unwin.. • Rutherford, F. James; Ahlgren, Andrew (1990). Science for all Americans.

New York, NY:, Oxford University Press.. Written at Philadelphia. Alhacen's Theory of Visual Perception: A Critical Edition, with English Translation and Commentary, of the First Three Books of Alhacen's, the Medieval Latin Version of Ibn al-Haytham's Kitāb al-Manāẓir, 2 vols. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 91.:...; • Thurs, Daniel Patrick (2007). Science Talk: Changing Notions of Science in American Popular Culture.

New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. External links. Find more about Scienceat Wikipedia's • from Wiktionary • from Wikimedia Commons • from Wikinews • from Wikiquote • from Wikisource • from Wikibooks • from Wikivoyage • from Wikiversity Publications • ' '..org Resources •: •. Archived from on June 10, 2010. • • in Dictionary of the History of Ideas.

(Dictionary's new electronic format is badly botched, entries after 'Design' are inaccessible. Internet Archive ). • • Selected science information provided by US Government agencies, including research & development results •.