The
scientific method is not a step by step, linear process. It is an intuitive
process, a
methodology
for learning about the world through the application of knowledge. Scientists
must
be able to have an "imaginative preconception" of what the truth is.
Scientists will
often
observe and then hypothesize the reason why a phenomenon occurred. They use all
of
their knowledge and a bit of imagination, all in an attempt to uncover
something that
might
be true.
A typical scientific
investigation might go like so:
You
observe that a room appears dark, and you ponder why
the room is dark. In an attempt to find
explanations to this curiosity, your mind unravels several different hypotheses. One hypothesis might state that the lights are turned off.
Another hunch might be that the room's lightbulb has burnt out. Worst yet, you
could be going blind. To discover the truth you experiment. You feel your way around the room and find a light switch
and turn it on. No light. You repeat the experiment, flicking the switch back and forth. Still
nothing. That means your initial hypothesis, the room is dark because the
lights are off, has been rejected.
You
devise more experiments to test your hypotheses, utilizing a flashlight to
prove that you are indeed not blind. In order to accept
your last remaining hypothesis as the
truth, you could predict that changing the light bulb will fix the problem. If all
your predictions succeed, the original hypothesis is valid and is accepted.
In
some cases, however, your predictions will not occur in which you'll have to
start over. Perhaps the power is off.
Scientists
first make observations that raise a particular question. In order to explain
the observed phenomenon, they develop a number of possible explanations, or
hypotheses.
This
is the inductive part of science, observing and constructing plausible
arguments for why
an event occurred.
Experiments
are then used to eliminate one of more of the possible hypotheses until one
hypothesis remains. Using deduction, scientists use the principles of their
hypothesis to make predictions, and then test to make sure that their
predictions are confirmed. After many trials (repeatability) and all predictions
have been confirmed, the hypothesis then may become a theory.
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