Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-swr86 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T21:11:55.814Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - What is science?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

Roel Snieder
Affiliation:
Colorado School of Mines
Ken Larner
Affiliation:
Colorado School of Mines
Get access

Summary

Scientists, therefore, are dealing with doubt and uncertainty. All scientific knowledge is uncertain. This experience with doubt and uncertainty is important. I believe that it is of great value, and one that extends beyond the sciences. I believe that to solve any problem that has never been solved before, you have to leave the door to the unknown ajar. You have to permit the possibility that you do not have it exactly right. Otherwise, if you have made up your mind already, you might not solve it.

Feynman, 1998

Certainly a book for prospective scientists ought to explain what science is. Still, despite numerous books that treat the philosophy, character, and practice of science, there is no agreed-upon nor clear-cut and unambiguous definition of science. This holds not only for the many fields of study that have adopted methods patterned on those of the natural science, e.g., social science, psychology, economics, managerial science, and military science, but also for the natural sciences themselves. In a broad sense one might define science as the activities aimed at understanding the world around us, but it could be well argued that the arts, humanities, and many other endeavors in modern society likewise aim at understanding of the world, albeit understanding of a different sort than that sought in the natural sciences. So let's focus on the practice of natural science, which might be defined as the activities aimed at understanding of the natural world.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Art of Being a Scientist
A Guide for Graduate Students and their Mentors
, pp. 11 - 28
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • What is science?
  • Roel Snieder, Colorado School of Mines, Ken Larner, Colorado School of Mines
  • Book: The Art of Being a Scientist
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816543.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • What is science?
  • Roel Snieder, Colorado School of Mines, Ken Larner, Colorado School of Mines
  • Book: The Art of Being a Scientist
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816543.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • What is science?
  • Roel Snieder, Colorado School of Mines, Ken Larner, Colorado School of Mines
  • Book: The Art of Being a Scientist
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816543.002
Available formats
×