What is Scientific: Definition and 547 Discussions
Science (from the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.The earliest roots of science can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age. The recovery and assimilation of Greek works and Islamic inquiries into Western Europe from the 10th to 13th century revived "natural philosophy", which was later transformed by the Scientific Revolution that began in the 16th century as new ideas and discoveries departed from previous Greek conceptions and traditions. The scientific method soon played a greater role in knowledge creation and it was not until the 19th century that many of the institutional and professional features of science began to take shape; along with the changing of "natural philosophy" to "natural science."Modern science is typically divided into three major branches that consist of the natural sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, and physics), which study nature in the broadest sense; the social sciences (e.g., economics, psychology, and sociology), which study individuals and societies; and the formal sciences (e.g., logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science), which deal with symbols governed by rules. There is disagreement, however, on whether the formal sciences actually constitute a science as they do not rely on empirical evidence. Disciplines that use existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine, are described as applied sciences.New knowledge in science is advanced by research from scientists who are motivated by curiosity about the world and a desire to solve problems. Contemporary scientific research is highly collaborative and is usually done by teams in academic and research institutions, government agencies, and companies. The practical impact of their work has led to the emergence of science policies that seek to influence the scientific enterprise by prioritizing the development of commercial products, armaments, health care, public infrastructure, and environmental protection.
This is the provocative question posed by Sabine Hossenfelder in her article in Forbes, covering the ongoing debate of inflation critics like Paul Steinhardt (once one of the theory founders) and scientists who develop models of inflation. Link to her article...
Hi all,
I am a professor in mechanical engineering and I have several master thesis students and I am facing the problem with the quality of their thesis. Especially, most of the thesis I have to correct are often very long because they are rich in useless information and lack of literature...
Is there scientific studies that confirm that a race or ethnic group is physically superior to any other? I think we can examine sports records can make some judgement on what type of groups of people are superior in each type of sports. But I don't know how you would go about judging who is...
I tried a search for this first and had negative results so I thought it might be helpful.
Google has launched a new https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/google-launches-new-dataset-search-engine.htm feature that enables laypersons to retrieve highly specific results from millions of...
I thought about something interesting. Essentially any scientific theory is just a subset of the powerset of all possible human thoughts. Good theories are just stories within that powerset that happen to have predictive power and hence are useful to us. But the powerset of all possible human...
I'm going to assume there will be some strong options on this piece!
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-scientific-paper-is-obsolete/556676/
I like to start a graduate program in scientific computing within the next 4-5 years, once my kids are a little older, my wife finishes her degree, and I have more money saved. In the meantime, I’m not going to waste time. Using the MIT challenge completed by Scott Young as inspiration, I’ve...
Hi, I wanted you guys to tell me whether you like this idea I had and if you have any ideas on the implication of it, and whether it would work as I describe it or not.
So, in this world I created, there is a basic understanding of physics by the scholars, but most people don't even understand...
I am studying the scientific method and have come to the following conclusion.
Since X -> Y does not imply X is true (or real), it is impossible for the scientific method (SM) to prove that anything is true.
So like mathematics, the scientific method builds knowledge on axioms which cannot be...
I find both subjects interesting, to the point where every night after putting the kids to bed, I spend a few hours self-studying, but I wonder if going back for a master's degree would be worth the effort. I know that if I want to do professional work in either of these two subjects I'll need...
Hey. So I was curious what are the main differences between:
1) Fiction: Time Loops, like the one seen in Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow
And
2) Scientific: Closed Timelike Curves: Which occur in certain solutions of General Relativity.
Note: Sorry, a lot of the time before I thought time...
I know this publication is not peer reviewed, but when I saw this article it was exactly the same way I came to “understand” the twin paradox myself. I literally did this exact calculation (with a different gamma value).
So I was wondering if the article was valid. If it isn’t, where isn’t it...
Hello!
I'm very interested in physics, and relatively new to it. I'm doing a degree in Engineering but interested in shifting the Major to physics.
I'm requesting suggestions about scientific paper that EVERY physicist must read in order to get a certain command on the subject. I mean by that...
When I asked this question in another forum, some people argued that scientific and mathematical discoveries are born out of curiosity and a way to explain unknown elements that surrounds us. Others say it comes from originality. In my opinion, I think it does come from curiosity, but you have...
Hi Everyone,
My college runs a student run academic journal in which students read and write a review of a topic in physics and then some are selected for publication. I am determined to get mine accepted but am struggling to pick good topics. Topics must have research being carried out...
The Scientific Method says that if a theory disagrees with observations, it has been falsified (according to Karl Popper). String theory predicts that spacetime is 10-D, but it is observed to be 4-D. This is a wrong prediction by the theory. So string theory is falsified.
String theorists then...
Of interest:
New York Times - October 13, 2017
Fraud Scandals Sap China’s Dream of Becoming a Science Superpower
By AMY QIN
BEIJING — Having conquered world markets and challenged American political and military leadership, China has set its sights on becoming a global powerhouse in a...
My son is taking a chemistry class in high school, and he was telling me this morning that their teacher had taught them there was some kind of fundamental distinction between scientific laws and theories. He said the teacher had told them that laws are just fundamental regularities observed in...
Hello,
I have been wondering how it is possible for us to encourage international scientific research collaboration. I mean what can governments, normal people and research groups do to encourage it?
I value your thoughts.
Thank you.
It would save time if we could just say "it's the CHIDIP effect again." So, what a sciencey name for the following:
The first one is: You never run out of chips and dip at the same time?
Then: There ten hot dog buns in a package but hot dogs come eight to the pack?
---I am not sure in which section i should post this question , so if it is wrong section kindly move it to the proper section ----
I am really confused to draw a clear line between what is science and what is not .
I know science has some characteristics which differentiates it from...
Does anyone know any other good scientifiic songs to add to my playlist? I currently have these:
I listen to them 3 times a day each; When I wake up, some other time through the day when I feel like it, and before I go to sleep :)
I would like to have a playlist full of songs similar to...
Hi! I just earned a PhD in Physics and I am interested in the career of scientific advisor. Can anyone give me some advices (sorry for the game of words :-)!) about a possible way to follow to become it? Thank you very much
Do you know of any good websites like MIT News or Scientific American where the cutting edge research is shared in as simple way that a high school student can understand?
I am 26 years old and currently working on my B.Sci. in Computer Science. I am also interested in astronomy and physics as well, and my dream job would be something where I can combine those interests and work alongside scientists and researchers. I love science and as long as I make a...
I am currently writing my first scientific paper, but I've never really had any proper training on the specifics of writing one particularly in citing references. The scenario is this:
Say I'm reading paper A that wrote about result X which was cited from paper B. I also want to cite result X...
Which sub field of scientific computing has better employ ability and job prospects? (within computational physics & computational biology). I meant both in industry and research oriented jobs where we would use the skills and knowledge relevant to the degree.
Hello, can someone suggest me some introductory, or basic books on scientific computing(computational physics or computational biology) ? I m planning to study masters in it and I want to grasp the basics of it before i commit.
Ideally, I would like to see an article on the PF insights about the scientific process about how we come up with laws, theories, and hypothesis. May be I missed, if so, please point me to the right page.
My specific questions are as follows:
Is there a lab experimental evidence a must to...
An interesting article in Ars Technica on p-hacking vs deep data dives:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/the-peer-reviewed-saga-of-mindless-eating-mindless-research-is-bad-too/
We shouldn't look at data trying to find something interesting but should instead have a hypothesis in mind...
Is there anywhere we can rate each (scientific) journals?
Publication ethics is for both sides. Not only authors should follow some ethics, but editors should also follow.
There are some journal editors not following praction ethics.
I am going to be writing an argumentative essay on the topic, and was wondering what people think about ideologies and their influence on the sciences. I have not been on the forum before, but from what I have seen this seems like a good place to get some interesting feedback. Thanks in advance...
This is in the way of a rant, but I am posting it here as it relates to education and to encourage you educators to do a better job. :wink:
I recently bought a well-known manufacturer’s LED light bulb at a home center. I was curious to know the spectral output of the bulb, so I emailed customer...
Hi,
I have two degrees. A BA in physics and a master's in computer science. I've taken more than 30 hours in upper level biology courses and a decent number of hours in mid level chemistry. One thing that I can attest to is that all of the disciplines have a different feel to their respective...
Is there a way to estimate the upper limit and lower limit of time for doing a work?
Suppose we are learning a page of facts and want to estimate the upper and lower limit of time taken to do so. If we start estimating the time we will find that the pages are learned in some variable periods of...
Robert Kennedy Jr. has been offered and has accepted the http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/robert-kennedy-jr-says-hes-accepted-job-offer-from-trump/ar-BBy7z6P?li=BBnb7Kz. Trump has stated his concern for the side effects of vaccinations in the past. The inclusion of scientific...
Hello, this is my first time being in Physics Forum.
I am a 4th year student majoring in Astronomy and Physics at a university.
I decided to major in them because I was interested and I wanted to go to grad school for astrophysics and eventually stepping into academia.
Recently, I have been...
Hey everyone,
I'm writing a paper about major events/turning points and wanted to cite a scientific principle. Does anyone know if there is a physics (or any scientific) principal that refers to major turning points or the specific steps that lead to a certain outcome?
Thanks so much!
Pleaes read the following. It its the material for a whole chapter in furture hisotry books or even whole books. It one ups Gov. Rick Scott of Florida who band the use of the terms "climate change" and "global warming" from all official communications back in 2011...
I study Physics and my major requires me to take 6 optional courses in any area of my interest.
I am interested in pursuing a career as a programmer, but my university doesn't allow me to choose Computer Science courses due to their high demand. Perhaps I can take one or two CS courses but...
Homework Statement
My investigation report concerns Newton's second law and testing it to conclude that the Force is directly proportional to the acceleration.
We measured a cart down a runway with mass increments of 10g per result.
Starting off with 100g attached to the cart via thread (+...
Scientific American created a short movie purporting to explain entanglement and the Bell experiment at:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/video/quantum-entanglement-the-movie-2012-01-30/
The part that interests me is near the end when explaining what is possible with entangled photons, which I...
I have to write an essay on a current scientific idea or concept that is still considered emerging or experimental. Does anyone have any ideas as to what topic I should write? I'm looking for more physics-related topics, and I've considered writing about the "fifth force," though I'm not sure...
Nowadays I read a lot about people's bucket list. For members not familiar with the concept, a bucket list are a list of things they really want to do before they die. For example, some people might really want to try parachute jumping or riding an elephant.
But when it comes to us scientists...
Hello, I'm studying for a physics bachelor degree in college. In order to graduate in time, i have to take several general ed courses, and I've chosen religious studie 100 course because i thought i know/like ancients myths that related to greek, roman, norse gods, and etc, and because of that...
Hello everyone,
I've never used PF before, so I'm not exactly sure I'm posting in the right place. Anyway, here's what's going on : I'm currently preparing a Master's in neurobiology. I stopped studying sciences (i.e., physics, chemistry, maths) in high school, but somehow managed to catch up...