Chapter 1

The Nature Of Science

What is Science?
n People have different interpretations for the
word science.
n “Science is the acquisition of reliable but not
infallible knowledge of the real world, including
explanations of the phenomena.” ¾ Arthur
Strahler
n "Science is what we have learned about how
to keep from fooling ourselves.” ¾ Richard
Feynman
n "Science is a way of thinking, much more than
it is a body of facts." ¾ Carl Sagan
What is Science?
n Science is a systematic and unbiased way of
learning about things; it is a process used to
improve our understanding of the universe
and all that is in it.
n Science relies on observation and experience.
For something to be a subject of scientific
inquiry, it must be measurable in one way or
another.
What is Science?
n It normally tries to identify the cause and
effect relation rather than just a collection of
observations or correlations. See the
reference book by John Staddon for detail.
n Science can assist other fields of study like
ethics, art, and religion, e.g. research on the
Shroud of Turin, restoration of antiques.
Why should we understand science?
n All educated individuals, not just scientists,
can benefit from gaining this knowledge as
part of a liberal arts education.
n Many careers involve the use of scientific
information, e.g. some business people use
the results of marketing surveys to make
decision. Experience in scientific research
provides insight on what questions to ask
about topics related to science.
n Many issues faced by the government such
as environmental policy, military planning,
and social welfare programs have important
scientific components.
n Scientifically literate citizens should demand
that scientific research be used properly in
the decision-making process. They should
also demand that scientific conclusion used in
making policy.
n Individuals should understand science for
making important decisions about themselves
and their families, e.g. changing diet pattern,
buying cars or computer products, changing
ways of the education of children.
n An understanding of science also enables us
to distinguish science from pseudosciences
or any phenomena improperly explained as
scientific such as UFOs and astrology.
n A current example is the jab or not-jab debate
all over the world and in particular in the USA.
You may find the recent paper “The Online
Competition Between Pro- and Anti-
Vaccination Views” by N. F. Johnson et al. in
Nature 582, 230 (2020) particularly
illuminating.
Areas of Science
n Below table lists the major areas of science
with their focus of study.
Area Focus of Study
Physical The fundamental nature of matter and
sciences energy
Biological Living things, their component parts,
sciences and the interaction between organisms
Behavioral Human behavior and organization,
sciences both in individuals and in groups.
Earth Nonliving matter on Earth and
sciences elsewhere in the universe
n Note that there are many scientific disciplines
cross the boundaries of these categories ¾
interdisciplinary studies, e.g. anthropology,
astronomy.
n Beware that disciplines classified as “science”
may have non-scientific components.
Basic vs Applied Research
n Research is the process of discovery of
knowledge.
n Scientific research can be categorized as:
n Basic research: in-depth learning of a
particular phenomenon driven by the curiosity
of the scientist, e.g. studies of how different
chemical compounds are made up of.
n Applied research: solve a specific practical
problem which often leads to new or improved
technology, e.g. research in the development
of nuclear weapons.
n The distinction between basic and applied
research isn't always clear.
n Basic and applied research are intertwined.
Applied research relies heavily on basic
research to provide the underlying ideas. In
turn, basic research affects society through
the result of related applied research.
n Most scientists feel that there must be a
healthy balance between basic and applied
research for the betterment of humankind.

n See, for example, the recent small book “The

Usefulness Of Useless Knowledge” by A.
Flexner and R. Dijkgraaf.
n And the You-Tube interview of James Simons
n as well as this one
Scientific Knowledge
n Scientific knowledge is a product of the
human process of science and its social
context. It represents the most accurate view
of the real world that is possible.
n Science is a ongoing process, and scientific
knowledge may be modified over time as new
data and evidence are found.
n Scientific knowledge can be divided rougly
into:
n Textbook science: highly-reliable and well-
established knowledge.
n Frontier science: new knowledge that has not
been tested sufficiently and may change in the
near future.
n All scientific knowledge should be expressed
in the form of scientific statements.
Hypothesis, Theory, and Law
n Hypothesis is a proposed explanation made
to account for known facts, which may be true
or false.
n A non-testable hypothesis is one that no
empirical approach could be employed to tell
if the hypothesis is correct.
n Examples of non-testable hypotheses:
n "Our universe is surrounded by another, larger
universe, with which we can have absolutely
no contact.“
n “There’s life after death.”
n A good hypothesis should be testable, i.e.
it should give prediction which can be tested
by empirical methods.
n Examples of testable hypotheses:
n “If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light,
then people with a high exposure to ultraviolet
light will have a higher frequency of skin
cancer.”
n “Populations of some species of sharks have
dropped significantly due to overfishing.”
n An experiment is a test under controlled
conditions that is to made to study the validity
of a hypothesis by collecting and analyzing
reliable evidence. For example, according to
legend, Galileo Galilei dropped objects of
different masses from the leaning tower of
Pisa to prove that all objects fall at the same
rate, whatever their mass.
n Hypothesis may be generated from careful
and logical analyses of observed phenomena
or even from intuition or imagination.
n In science, a theory represents a hypothesis
or group of related hypotheses that have
been confirmed by repeated testing.
n A scientific theory may be revised or even
changed as new evidence is accumulated.
n A scientific theory should be:
n Self-consistent and compatible with evidence
n Firmly grounded in and based upon evidence
n Tested against a wide range of phenomena
n Demonstrably effective in problem-solving

n Examples of scientific theories:

n Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection
n The Kinetic Theory of Gases
n The Theory of General Relativity by Einstein
n We should also note the difference between
theory and theorem. In mathematics, a
theorem is a statement established by means
of a proof, e.g. Pythagorean theorem. Note
that a mathematical theorem is always correct
in the sense that it is not possible to find a
counter-example disproving it.
n In science, a law is a descriptive principle of
natural which holds in all circumstances
covered by the wording of the law. Therefore,
if a theory is found to be true for all times and
places, then it would be considered as a law.
n Examples of scientific laws:
n Newton's Law of Gravity
n Mendel’s Law of Inheritance
n Clearly, there is a degree of overlap in the
definitions of law, theory and hypothesis. In
fact, there is no exact definition for these
terms in the scientific community.
Falsification
n Karl Popper (1902-1994)
is one of the greatest
philosophers of science
who has had the biggest
impact on the current
practice of science.
n He popularized the ideas
that falsification is the
defining characteristic
of science.
n In his book Conjectures and Refutations
(1963), Popper stated that:
n “A theory which is not refutable by any
conceivable event is non-scientific. .... Every
genuine test of a theory is an attempt to falsify
it, or to refute it.”
n “The criterion of falsifiability is a solution to ...,
for it says that statements or systems of
statements, in order to be ranked as scientific,
must be capable of conflicting with possible, or
conceivable, observations.”
n Popper asserted that it is logically impossible
to prove any theory to be true; however, it can
be disproved by just one exception.
n He argued that a hypothesis or theory is
scientific only if it is falsifiable, i.e. if it is
false, then it can be shown by observation or
experiment.
n If a falsifiable theory is tested under various
conditions and no contradictory result is ever
found, then it can become accepted as a
scientific truth.
n For example,
n “Whenever my computer glitches, it is
because an Invisible Pink Unicorn has messed
with it.” ¾ a non-falsifiable theory
n "Any two objects dropped from the same
height above the surface of the earth will hit
the ground at the same time, as long as air
resistance is not a factor.” ¾ a falsifiable
theory
n Popper also proposed that unfalsifiable
statements are non-scientific.
Scientific Methods
n The scientific method is an objective,
repeatable and iterative process to obtain
scientific knowledge.
n The scientific method is not fixed or unique,
and it has variations. However, its results
must be in agreement with observations.
n The history of scientific method spans over
thousands of years. Many great scientists,
philosophers and theologians contributed to
the development of scientific method.
n Basic steps of the scientific method:
(1) Start with an observation that evokes a
question.
(2) Formulate a hypothesis ¾ a possible
answer to the question
(3) Test the hypothesis by conducting an
experiment
(4) Analyze the data and compare it with the
predictions of the hypothesis.
(5) Draw a conclusion based on the results.
 (6) If the hypothesis is showed to be false,
we should construct a new hypothesis
and start the entire process again.
n Note that we should repeat the experiment
several times to make sure that the first
results weren't just an accident.
n We should also check whether there are any
other possible causes for the predictions of a
hypothesis in its test.
Figure illustrating the steps of the scientific method
(Courtesy of Arizona State University)
n The discovery of the structure of DNA is a
good example illustrating how the scientific
method works.
n In early 1950s, scientists recognized that DNA
was the information-containing molecule in the
cell. Many scientists wondered how messages
are encoded and transmitted by DNA.
n In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson
proposed the double-helix model explaining
how could DNA contain long, encoded
messages.
James Watson (R) and Francis Crick (L)
walking along the banks at Cambridge
University.

The original DNA model by

Watson and Crick.
n Their model was based on the rules revealed
by Erwin Chargaff. It was also inspired and
supported by the X-ray diffraction studies of
DNA by Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins
and other scientists.

Erwin
Chargaff Rosalind Franklin
"Photo 51”: X-ray diffraction image of DNA taken by
Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling in 1952.
n Experimental evidence supporting the Watson
and Crick’s model were published in a series
of five articles in the journal Nature in 1953.
n The double helix model was then regarded as
an accurate account of the DNA’s structure.
Limitations of Science Method
n Due to the restrictions that hypothesis must
be testable and falsifiable, and experiments
and observations be repeatable, the scientific
method have its limitations:
n Even scientific laws are not 100% reliable.
n Science cannot prove or refute the existence
of God or any other supernatural entity.
n Science is also incapable of making value
judgments.
n Moral decision cannot be made with the help
of science alone.