What is science?
Thomas Henry Huxley once said: "Science is simply common sense at its best; that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic."
Carl Sagan offered the opinion: "Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge."
Albert Einstein observed that: "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong."
What is science? A great many brilliant scientists and philosophers and even philosophers of science have tried to tackle that question. But for all of their thinking on the subject, we have yet to come up with an all-encompassing universal definition.
Or put another way, science is like many of the big institutions in our society - such as democracy. It is hard to define but we know it when we see it. However, some things are clear:
Science explores the physical world around us. It is an exploration of the universe at all of its levels.
Science seeks answers to the question "why" - as in why is the sky blue?; why do flowers bloom?; and why is excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere going to damage the Earth?
Science is reproducible - anyone, following the proper instructions, can reproduce a scientific experiment or observation. Implicit in this is the notion that scientists are also open and honest with one another about our experiments and observations. This is why issues of academic dishonesty are taken so seriously by scientists.
Science moves in small increments.
Why bring this up?
Well, in part, this is what these columns are about. What is science and how does it affect our daily lives? They are meant to explore the intriguing, curious or fascinating in the world of science or the science in our world.
But I also raise the subject because right now, in schools around our city and throughout the region, young scientists are working hard to finish their science projects and attend science fairs. Yes, it is once again science fair season - a time when young minds explore, question, criticize, fantasize, and generally have a lot of fun doing science.
It is a time of the year when many young students learn what science is all about by doing and not just reading.
One of the questions that I frequently get asked about science fairs is "what makes a good science fair project?" This is a fair question as there tends to be the impression that you must have the latest and fastest "computer holographic dimensional displays" for a project to be good. (By the way, I don't know what those are and I don't think that they even exist!)
This is by no means the case.
When I look at a science fair project, I am interested in several things, most of which have nothing to do with flashing lights.
The first thing that I want to know is "does the student understand the science?" Did they learn something?
Any project can be a success if knowledge is gained. Sir Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen farther, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." He understood that science moves forward by small steps, one after another.
Science rarely works in big lurching movements. The myth of someone shouting "Eureka! I've got it" is, well, a myth. Indeed, to quote another famous scientist, Isaac Asimov said: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka' but 'That's peculiar...'"
The second thing I look for in a science fair project is interest - does the project interest the student? A real interest in the material shows up in a great deal of care and attention to details. It shows up in careful record-keeping and neat drawings. It shows up in background research and thoughtful presentations. An interesting project along with an interested student is better than a flashy display.
The most important question, though, is: "Is it science?" Does it involve a question that the student has tried to answer in a scientific manner? This involves making observations about something, from these observations devising a hypothesis, checking the hypothesis by collecting data, analyzing the results, coming to a conclusion and checking this against the hypothesis. It might even involve modifying the experiment based on what has been learned.
Whether or not the scientific method is followed distinguishes good science from bad. And distinguishes good science fair projects, too.
The Central Interior Science Exhibition which will take place on March 5 in the Bentley Centre at UNBC. It is always amazing to see what our young scientists can do.
