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- El Fiji Grande (#3446)
Far too often in modern life, people will accept "facts" on face value, and accept them. It is always helpful to question these supposed "truths", and test them yourself, as what really happens may defy intuition. On the other hand, simply challenging authority by presenting an alternative hypothesis without also testing that hypothesis is also useless. It is via the scientific method that we can test our hypotheses to help gain a better understanding of the world around us.
Growing up, this would always be the first chapter in any science textbook I had. Considering myself the smart kid in class, I would breeze past it, trying to get to the meat of the subject matter. But I cannot understate how important the scientific method is. It is a process of reasoned thought that lies as the foundation of all science and knowledge, which we have subsequently applied to engineering and technology. It is upon this principle upon which all modern civilization is based, and thus cannot be overlooked.
The scientific method is a process by which we can create and test hypotheses.
Most people I have met will only form a hypothesis, and then conduct background research to find studies that appear to confirm that hypothesis, and conclude that the mystery is solved. This is a backwards approach, as it is an appeal to authority, which is a logical flaw. I do note that it is impossible for any one person to test every hypothesis, to repeat every study in existence to try to replicate the results. But to truly know something, you have to test it for yourself.
It is also important to note that once a hypothesis is tested and the results are positive, this does not prove the hypothesis to be correct. It merely provides evidence towards that conclusion. Repeating the experiment will provide more evidence that the hypothesis is correct, but still does not prove it so. In fact, theories and laws of nature are at their core hypotheses that have been tested time and again and have a vast body of evidence supporting them.
Growing up, this would always be the first chapter in any science textbook I had. Considering myself the smart kid in class, I would breeze past it, trying to get to the meat of the subject matter. But I cannot understate how important the scientific method is. It is a process of reasoned thought that lies as the foundation of all science and knowledge, which we have subsequently applied to engineering and technology. It is upon this principle upon which all modern civilization is based, and thus cannot be overlooked.
The scientific method is a process by which we can create and test hypotheses.
It is also important to note that once a hypothesis is tested and the results are positive, this does not prove the hypothesis to be correct. It merely provides evidence towards that conclusion. Repeating the experiment will provide more evidence that the hypothesis is correct, but still does not prove it so. In fact, theories and laws of nature are at their core hypotheses that have been tested time and again and have a vast body of evidence supporting them.