The Natural Sciences as AoK

What is Natural Science?

 “Science may be described as the art of

systematic oversimplification.”
--Karl Popper (1902-1994)

 “Science is a way of thinking more than it is a

body of knowledge.”
--Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
 The Scientific Method

1. Observartion
2. Hypothesis
3. Experiment
4. Law
5. Theory
 The Scientific Method
1. Observe and record data
2. Classify relevant data
3. Search for a pattern in the data
4. Formulate a hypothesis
5. Make a predication based on steps 1-4
6. Test prediction using an experiment
7. If experiment confirms hypothesis = discovery of a scientific law
• Controllability: vary only 1 factor at a time to help isolate cause of phenomenon being investigated
• Measurability: relevant variables must be measurable, which allows precisions & objectivity
• Repeatability: others must be able to repeat experiment & confirm results
8. Develop a theory, which explains & unifies various laws based on
an underlying principle: a good theory explains why laws are the
way they are & provides focus for further research*
* Lagemaat, Richard van de, Theory of Knowlesde: for the IB Diploma, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, p.226.
The Scientific Method : An
Example
Observation:
 Observation of the nighttime sky over the centuries
became better, leading to a more complicated picture of
heavenly bodies

 Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the universe become less

orderly and more messy, needing more & more new
explanations to make sense of the model
The Scientific Method : An Example

Hypothesis
 Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) proposes a heliocentric
model of the universe with the sun at the center & the
Earth revolving around the sun

 Simpler & more elegant explanation

The Scientific Method : An Example

Prediction
 In Ptolemaic model, Venus always same size

 In Copernican model, Venus’ size should vary depending

on its distance from the Earth

 1609: Galileo (1564-1642) uses his telescope to observe

that Venus’ size does vary depending on its relative
position from Earth just as Copernicus had predicted
The Scientific Method : An Example

Law
 Johann Kepler (1571-1630) used the above observations &
discoveries in his study of the heavenly bodies

 Kepler developed his laws of planetary motion, which

included his assertion than planets revolve around the Sun
in ellipses
The Scientific Method : An Example

Theory
 Isaac Newton (1642-1727) devised the theory of gravity

 Theory of Gravity: there is a force of attraction between

objects, directly proportional to their masses & inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between objects
(2x distance: ¼ gravitational attraction)

 Broader theory of gravity explained why apples fall

(probably apocryphal story), people have weight,
movement of the tides & led to discovery of Uranus (1781)
& Neptune (1846)
The Scientific Method : Consider

 Scientific progress needs a background of careful

observation (Kepler need Tycho Brahe, 1546-1601)
 Technology can strengthen powers of observation
(telescope & microscope)
 Imagination has an important role in scientific
discoveries (Copernicus saw what so many others
had not seen*)
 Mathematics plays a key function; it gives expression
& precision (Newton’s laws)
*Aristarchus (3rd century BCE Greek astronomer proposed a heliocentric universe)
The Scientific Method : Problems

Observation
 Relevance: humans always begin with an idea(s) of what is or is
not relevant to a problem
 Selective nature of perception: possible to overlook or not
anticipate something that turns out to be relevant (# people in
a room during an experiment)
 Expectations can influence observations
 Expert seeing: practice & experience to look in microscope or
read an ultrasound
 Observer effect: an of observation can affect what is observed
(thermometer)
 The Scientific Method : Problems

Hypothesis
 Confirmation bias: accept evidence that confirms biases &
reject evidence that does not

 Charles Darwin (1809-1882): “’I followed a golden rule,

namely that whenever a new observation or thought came
across me, which was opposed to my general results, I make
a memorandum of it without fail at once; for I had found by
experience that such facts and thoughts were far more apt
to escape from the memory than favorable ones.”
(Lagermaat, p. 230)
 The Scientific Method : Problems

Hypothesis
 Background assumptions: humans make assumptions
that may prove to be incorrect (notion that stars were
close to the Earth)
 Different hypotheses can be consistent with a set of data

 Principle of Simplicity: in the presence of two or more

competing theories that make the same predictions… the
simpler theory is to be preferred
 The Scientific Method : Problems

Law
 Problem of Induction: move from observed to unobserved (all
swans are white or all metals expand when heated)
 Practical Problems: how many observations are needed?
 Theoretical Problems:

 science is based on empricism (no claims beyond the observed)

 grounding in observation gives authority to science not found in pseudo-science
 do we refuse to make claims that go beyond what has been observed?
 how do new laws & discoveries get made
 allow right of scientists to reason from particular to general
 abandon claim that science is strictly emprical?