Science: It's an Introduction
A Method of Understanding:
Science is the practice of a method of understanding and of communication. It may be called the scientific method. This method can be a great help in self-development and in being a successful human being.
As you become better acquainted with this method of understanding you become a more effective person. You will also develop a better understanding of the sciences in general and of each individual science, even ytterbiumology.
Scientific Doings:
The scientific method generally includes the following doings: observation, identification/recognition, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. So, a scientist observes a doing or happening and begins to explain it. The method is much about how she does this. That is, how you do it may be more important than what you do.
To start well, let's try to define some of our terms. We can begin with the word 'science.' Starting at the beginning we see that science means knowledge, the business of knowing. Just how one knows is a serious subject. A subject we could check into later. Early in its history science became knowledge gained by study. Science brings its history with it. It still means knowledge and it still means knowledge gained by study. The science quickly came to be the study of particular and specific subjects. In its more modern meaning it has come to mean the technical and mathematical study of a subject. However the basic method of doing science is both a simpler and more powerful attitude then one might suppose.
We already know that "method" means "the way how." So, science is a particular way of understanding, a particularly effective way of understanding. It may be useful to remember that the suffix -ology means study. So anthropology is the study of human species, of humanity in most of its aspects. It has often been a comparative study of behavior, biology, societies. Whereas biology is the natural scientific study of life and of living organisms. It is one of the more nicely developed sciences. Cells and genes are now important factors in this study.
Observation:
It is important that a person interested in science develop a good grasp on the nature of scientific: observation, identification, explanation, knowing, researching, and theoretical description. Also to develop their ability to recognize and observe natural phenomena is helpful to their use of scientific methodology.
To gain and to communicate scientific knowledge one needs to become familiar with its concepts and vocabulary. As interest is shown, I hope to write more on the topic. I believe that you already have an understanding of the scientific method as a way many have found useful for gaining practical, productive knowledge and of communicating that knowledge.
You probably already have the understanding that science is well begun and carried out with studied and practiced observation.
The ways of scientific observation are important to the development of knowledge. My dictionary says this about "to observe:" to notice, to perceive, to watch attentively, to make a scientific or systematic observation. "Systematic," that implies that there is a system to be learned. It seems that the way of a scientific doing is, at least, as the what.
Observation is the act of observing; that is the act of noting and recording of a phenomena, doing, or happening, perhaps with instruments. Observation might lead to developing a judgement or inference. What are the methods for developing a judgement or an inference!
"Identify" could be our next term to examine. If you would like me to continue some sort of exposition of science, please leave a comment to that effect in the "comment" window below.
Identifying a phenomena is, in large part, for the purpose of being able to recognize the phenomena yourself and to enable others to also recognize it. There is more to say about the recognize/identify part of of our scientific process, but I will leave it for another time.
Oh, yes. Ytterbiumology is beyond my present knowledge; still it can be studied, known, and used. Its a chemical element with the symbol Yb and atomic number of 70. I may not live long enough to get deeply into the study of this element. Perhaps you can tell us more about it.
RCS