(c) Anthony K. Grafton 2003

Science is What?

We hear about science virtually every day in the news. We live every day with things from microwaves to medicine that wouldn’t exist without science. But what exactly is science?

Simply put, science is the study of natural processes that govern the natural world by applying logical thought and reasoning. Actually “doing” science can mean anything from studying the behavior of the duskytail darter to searching for the source of cosmic gamma ray bursts.

Most students learn the steps of the scientific method in school: observe, hypothesize, experiment, theorize, and report. The last step in the process, reporting your results, is perhaps the most important but often the least emphasized. After all, you can perform the most wonderful experiments in history, but if you don’t report your results to anyone, you’re not doing science. For instance, the work of Gregor Mendel, a scientist who laid the foundation for modern genetics, was almost lost for lack of reporting the results of his work.

A common misunderstanding in science is the difference between a scientific theory and a law. We are often taught that if a theory holds up long enough, it becomes a law. But in reality, a law is simply a statement of observed facts. A theory is an explanation for how observed facts come to be. Theories must be constantly tested, and if they don’t hold up to careful scrutiny, a different theory must be developed in its place.

Many, many different kinds of careers are available for those who want to “do” science. What kind of scientist might you like to become?