Discovering, learning and using knowledge. The systematic study of the natural world and universe through observation and experiments. Mathematical prediction and verification. The process and results of research. Explanations based on reasonable evidence. The collection, organization and unification of knowledge. All academic disciplines and professional fields are science.
Credibility for scientific accusations require that tests are repeatable through independent investigations. Theories need to be submitted for peer review. Universally accepted measuring systems should be used when at all possible. Findings from information are desired to be condensed into the simplest understanding with the most yield for maximum effectiveness. Successful science provokes new ideas.
Technology has evolved throughout the ages because people have applied creativity to being more efficient in doing the tasks that help us survive. If there’s one important lesson to be learned from our history, it’s that we’ve been good enough at problem solving to get where we are now. Engineering at its core is about applying science in the process of creating new technologies.
Science predates the awareness of doing it. We could say it started with the use of tools, which are methods and physical objects being used to help accomplish goals, but we don’t know if there’s ever been a time when humans didn’t use them. Using tools also isn’t exclusive to just us. Chimpanzees, gorillas, dolphins, and crows have all been observed using tools in one form or another.
Hunter gatherer societies have proven to have all the technology they’ve needed to survive and this kind of culture is estimated to account for about 90% of the time homo sapiens have existed. The Neolithic Revolution refers to a shift into agricultural societies that took place approximately between ten and eight thousand years ago. Different locations in the world independently started at different times. People began to domesticate plants and animals, resulting in a local food and material source, in contrast to traveling to hunt and gather wild resources. This would also lead to the first civilizations. Since this shift, technology has continued to evolve at an accelerating rate and science is at the heart of it all. The first industrial revolution starting in the 19th century is another turning point in technological evolution. These advancements have unfolded so quickly they have even influenced the world population, growing from about one billion in the year 1800 to eight billion in 2022.
In ancient Greece a small group of presocratic philosophers from Miletus were the first ones known to describe natural phenomena in ways other than using deities. Now known as the Milesian School of philosophy, this is the mindset that paved the way for what would become known as Natural Philosophy, which in large part, was influenced by Aristotle. Although the term science wouldn’t appear for another two thousand years, this is where its roots would grow out of. Natural Philosophy is the study of nature through empirical methods. Some of the subjects included were astronomy and cosmology, probability and randomness, motion and change, space and time, matter and physical entities. Theses studies were conducted in the fashion of what these days would still be considered philosophy, not science.
It wouldn’t be until about the 17th century that performing what we now refer to as science would get its momentum. Mathematics was essential to this change. As evidence continued to disprove Aristotle’s theories, there was an increasing dissatisfaction with the expression Natural Philosophy and the word science, derived from Latin scientia, meaning knowledge, was applied more and more. As new and distinct disciplines began to branch out, it no longer made sense to use the expression Natural Philosophy. Physics was the first of the new fields to grow out of this shift. The release of Sir Isaac Newton’s book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, in 1687, is a good marker in time for this scientific revolution, not only because it ended up being the foundation of physics for the next two hundred years, but because not to long after, new branches began to flourish, among the first were Chemistry and Biology.
In the 19th century the expression Natural Science was popularized by professionals and institutions. Natural science would eventually be divided into two more main branches, life science which include the biological fields and physical science which include fields such as physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science.
“We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a Scientist. Thus we might say, that as an Artist is a musician, Painter or Poet, a Scientist is a Mathematician, Physicist or Naturalist.”
William Whewell (1794-1866)
Whewell is not only credited for coining the terms scientist and physicist, he also coined the term consilience, which is the ability to bring together results and to make predictions in other fields of science. Whewell believed when a theory designed to explain one thing also explained something else without originally trying to do so, this is evidence the theory is true. He felt that good scientific theories unify science.
Besides learning science to understand the origin and processes of the universe it can also play an important role with achieving a quality of life in daily activities. James Trefil and Robert Hazen the authors of Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy, give four principle reasons for the importance of scientific literacy.
- Scientific literacy helps consumers make informed decisions.
- Today’s workplace depends on science.
- Scientific literacy provides a foundation for teaching children.
- Scientific literacy allows you to share in the joy of science.