Is modern science following the scientific method?

Is modern science following the scientific method?

BySboniso Mjaja (213505147)ENVS700

University of KwaZulu Natal

OverviewWhat is The scientific method?Steps in the scientific method.What is Modern science?Does Modern science follow the scientific method?Summary.Then comes the fun part.

Scientific method background

TheScientific Methodis a rigorous, time tested processfor determining the probable truth of any cause-and-effect proposition.The scientific method came to life shortly after the scientific revolution in 1543 (with the work of Galileo and Bacon 16th century).The Scientific Method is the most influential discovery since the invention of agriculture becauseit changed the way we think about thinking.

-Isaac newton than followed centuries after galileo and summarized galileos accomplishment.-.Before the Scientific Method, scientific knowledge was based on tradition and common sense. There was no concept of rigorous systematic testing of new propositions. Afterwards there was. Today, any scientist who puts forth a new major hypothesis without first subjecting it to the Scientific Method (theoretically or physically) will not survive as a scientist for long.3

Basic Elements of the Scientific methodEmpiricism: the notion that enquiry is conducted through observation and knowledge verified through evidence (Aristotle).Determinism: the notion that events occur according to regular laws and causes. The goal of research is to discover these.Scepticism: the notion that any proposition is open to analysis and critique.

The father of scienceGalileo Purely logical thinking [untested by experimentation] cannot yield us any [reliable] knowledge of the empirical world; all knowledge of reality starts from experience [observation and experimentation] and ends with it. Propositions arrived at by purely logical means are completely empty as regards reality.

What is the scientific method? What it really is.

What people think it is.

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Steps in the Scientific method

ObservationThe first process in the scientific method involves the observation of a phenomenon, event, or problem.The discovery may be by interest, assignment or the will to resolve from the observer.Observation often followed by questions (why, how, etc)

Hypothesis

A possible solution to a problem, based on knowledge and research.This should be testable (via experimentation)One of the fundamental steps.Can either be supported or rejected during testing.

Experimentation

A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.The experiment is the most important part of the scientific method.It's the logical process that lets scientists learn about the world

Modern science

BackgroundModern scienceis defined as an attitude of observation and experimentation quite often with the inclusion of mathematics to explain those observations.Thescientific revolutionestablished science as a source for the growth of knowledge.During the 19th century, the practice of science became professionalized and institutionalized in ways that continued through the 20th century.Includes all science disciplines (Physics, biology, Geology etc.)

Modern scienceAndThe scientific method

Testable hypothesesThe fundamental part of the scientific method but highly neglected by modern science.Some of widely accepted hypotheses or theories in modern science are not testable.Fields such as Earth science and evolutionary biology are amongst many that have neglected formulating testable hypothesis.If a hypothesis can not be tested it is not scientific and therefore speculative.

Cosmologyin cosmology, to avoid the inference that the earth is near the centre of the cosmos, as implied by isotropy of redshift and of cosmic microwave background energya highly speculative and difficult-to-test hypothesis has been invoked--namely, the Copernican PrincipleCopernican Principle up to now has been untestable which means, strictly speaking, that Big Bang cosmology cannot be viewed as authentic science since it relies in a critical way on an untestable hypothesis.

Copernican principle =which posits that the entire cosmos is just like what we observe from the earth, at least at large scales. A result is that gravity perfectly cancels at large scales and keeps the cosmos from being inside a black hole during the early phases of a Big Bang. 15

GeologyA similar state of affairs persist in Geology.which interprets the primary sedimentary units of most of the fossil-bearing part of the geological record as having been produced by gradualistic processesWhen evidence collected clearly supports that it has been produced through catastrophic processes.

Limitations of the scientific methodThe Origins are amongst the most common limitations to the application of the scientific method(no time machine).Personal bias due to different belief of different scientists(failure to reject hypothesis due to personal attachment).Some phenomena can not be retested due to nature of their occurrence therefore are disqualified.

SummaryInception of the scientific method was through Galileo and Bacon in the 16th century.Scientific method is a 5 step process that governs scientific endeavours.Experimentation is the most fundamental step. Modern science defined as new way to practice science in modern world.Modern scientific follows scientific method with exceptions.

ReferencesBaumgardner, J., 2008. Exploring the limitations of the scientific method.Acts & Facts,37(3), p.4.. Bright, W.E., 1952. An Introduction to Scientific Research. McGraw-Hill.Gauch, Hugh G. (2003).Scientific Method in Practice. Cambridge University Press. p.45.Peter Achinstein, 2004. "General Introduction toScience Rules: A Historical Introduction to Scientific Methods. Johns Hopkins University Press, (pp. 15)