George+Essay+What+is+this+science+final

Science: What exactly is it? Nothing about it remains constant. Its meaning has changed, the way we view it has changed, and the way it is conducted and reviewed is and will always be ever changing until we find and understand the infinite amount of knowledge this universe has to offer. In the modern day, science is the search to understand the natural world. In order to get closer towards the answer, scientists use evidence. Science has the reputation that it does because of how it is conducted. Scientific knowledge is openly shared and can be repeated by anybody or disproven by anybody at any time. Six billion people have the power to disprove any scientific theory ever established, and yet many theories still stand today. Humans have always been curious and will always be curious. It is in our nature to ask questions and to seek answers to those questions. Religion, philosophy, drugs, mediation, and science are just some of the paths in which people follow in order to seek the same thing. The search for some type of truth is something all humans share in common. With truth humans can predict the unknown. What sets science apart from all other methods for seeking the truth, is that science is the only method that uses evidence in order to support its claims on the natural world. Galileo and Aristotle both had ideas that would explain how motion works, but only Galileo used experimentation and proof to back up his ideas. Religion also claims to have the answers to life, but relies on faith instead of evidence to support its claims. In some respects historians can also be seen as scientists, because they use facts and evidence to piece together how or why humans do the things they do. Evidence used by scientists can be collected in many ways. Observation, experimentation and mathematics are the three most widely used methods to obtain evidence that either proves or disproves scientific theory. Newton gave his laws of physics the support is needed through mathematical evidence, whereas Darwin proved his theory of evolution through observations of wildlife on the Galapagos Islands. In the field of psychology, searching for answer through experimentation is the most effective way to find out how the mind works as demonstrated by Solomon Asch’s famous experiment on conformity. One of the reasons that science is so highly regarded by intellectuals is because of its strong base in logic and reason. Science is an ever changing idea that is always trying to improve. The most basic ideas of science come from the Greeks, who tried to explain natural phenomenon without using gods or deities to why they happen. Although most of their ideas were derived mostly from logic and not physical evidence or tangible proof, they laid the groundwork for explaining the way the world works without gods. Although most of the teachings of the early Greek philosophers were held by the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs, most of the information was lost in Western Europe. Any scientific progress during the middle ages was usually done through the church by monks, and would only be accepted if it did not go against the teachings of the church. Science only started to become what it is today around the time of Copernicus and Galileo. People began searching for the truth regardless of offending the church. At this time, science began rooting itself in empirical data, and backing up claims with experimental data that could be replicated by just about anyone. “Science” has continued to change based on what we use it for and it very well may change in the future. Pure scientific knowledge has no tangible purpose in society, but it’s what people take from it that makes it so beneficial for civilization. In order to truly harness the power of the natural world, engineers must understand how the world works. Inventions must be based on scientific knowledge so that they can be improved in the future and evolve with scientific knowledge. In more recent times, new discoveries are found by using expensive equipment and measuring devices. Scientists must wait for the technology to catch up to the theoretical science in order to make more progress. A perfect example of an inventor applying scientific knowledge to be used in the real world is Alfred Nobel. Only after understanding the nature of nitroglycerine and chemistry, he was able to create dynamite, which revolutionized warfare and mining operations. Scientific knowledge can also be translated into mechanical devises. In trying to explain the pattern of the vertical motion of planets, Nasir al-din al-Tusi theory could be directly translated into a mechanical devise that changes rotational movement into linear movement. Although his scientific theory was completely wrong, the mechanism by which he explained his theory is still used by engineers today. Neuroscience is a field that heavily depends on science, and any technological breakthrough can completely revolutionize the field. EEGs and MRIs now allow neuroscientists to look inside the mind. Where science is taught has shifted many times throughout the course of history. In general science is taught wherever knowledge and information is kept. The first “scientific” ideas were spread through libraries and universities in Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome. Most of the ideas came from Universities, were rational thinking and intelligent debate roamed freely. Although some of this information was kept in the east, after the fall of Rome the west lost the need for education and scientific ideas moved. Since education during the middle ages was only offered to the nobility and within the church, scientific progress drastically slowed. Most of the noble class was more focused on controlling the people than on science, and any science that came from the church was not spread to the people so that it could be translated into something tangible. During the Scientific Revolution, scientific progress came from wherever scientists found their inspiration. Darwin did his research on a boat. Professors today will do research in laboratories at universities, whereas Newton formulated most of his laws while working on a farm in rural England. Science today has spread out and is done in many areas. Governments will fund scientific research if they feel it has the potential to promote the general welfare of the people. Sometimes this means the research of more advanced weaponry or technologies that could harm other nations. Universities also fund scientific research for fame and academic reputation. Private companies will also fund science if they believe they can gain profitable information from the research. The relationship between technology and science is unique and ever changing. They are intertwined disciplines, but they still stay very separate. One cannot function without the other. Scientists need engineers to build more accurate told for measurements, while engineers need to understand how the world works in order to build better machines. Kepler could not have come up with his theories about planetary motion without the excellent data provide by Tycho Brahe, which he in turn was only able to get from the brilliantly engineered observatory of Uraniborg. Galileo would not have been able to disprove geocentricism without the telescope. Technology heavily depends on scientific research as well. The microwave required an in depth knowledge of particle physics, before it could be made. Many diseases and viruses require knowledge in biology and evolution in order to engineer vaccines and cures for the diseases. The search for truth requires increasingly accurate measurements in order to progress, but those measurements can only come from an increased understanding of the world. Science and technology will always require one another in order for civilization to move forward towards absolute truth.