What is Science?

Science is the means by which mankind figures out the rules of the universe. Whether acknolwedged or not, these rules are authored by God.

Embracing the Scientific Method

The scientific method is how scientists investigate the universe. Based on observations, scientists derive hypotheses, which are tested for their predictive value.

The best predictions will introduce few unknowns; too many unknowns, and you may just be rolling dice. A skilled scientist however knows how to identify the unkowns and accurately account for the impact.

Types of Predictions

Some predictions suggest conducting a controlled experiment. Some predictions suggest where to look for further discoveries, and suggest what qualities those discoveries will have. Improved aging techniques are a prime example. The search for black holes is another.

When Scientists are Wrong

Science is not about proving the truth, but discovering it.

When discrepancies arise, this is never bad. It always tells us something. Perhaps our assumptions were wrong. Perhaps we gathered the data incorrectly. Maybe we found a weakness in an accepted confirmation technique, or perhaps we have discovered the means to calibrate these techniques against each other. Whatever the result, we now know more than we did before... even if that knowledge is that we need to keep digging.

Scientists often contradict each other. This is not bad. It just defines the challenges before them. Often, the contradiction is a reflection of diverging approaches or simply suprising discoveries. For example, scientists looking to prove that light is a substance have found such evidence; others looking to prove that light is not a substance have found evidence for that as well. It turns out that light shares features of both substance and wave. It is a fascinating area of research, and while no one has finally nailed down light's precise nature, the seemingly contradictory assumption that light is somehow both substance and wave (but not observably both simultaneously... weird, huh?) have provided for mathematical models that have helped us understand the universe better than if we had seen the contradiction and simply scrapped one mode of research in favor of the other.

Scientists is not About Explaining, but About Discovering

Scientists do not prove facts per se. They observe what appear to be facts, and look for why those observations appear to be so. However, to make life simple, assumptions that demonstrate their apparent validitiy over and over again will eventually gain traction as if they are definitely facts... and they may well be. Anyway, as long as they continue to act true, what's the harm, right?

The problem with scientific facts is that occasionally we make an observation that calls our supposed facts into question. Once again, this is never bad. After all, there is a reason why this new observation was never observed before, and a reason why we got by so long without it. Quite often, a theory-masquerading-as-fact provides genuinely accurate predictions, or at least accurate enough to be useful. The new observation might help us be even more accurate, but does that require us to scrap everything leading up to it? Of course not.