Basic and applied research

Although some scientific research is into specific problems, a great deal of our understanding comes from the curiosity-driven undertaking . This leads to options for technological advance that were not planned or sometimes even imaginable. This point was made by Michael Faraday when allegedly in response to the question "what is the use of basic research?" he responded "Sir, what is the use of a new-born child. For example, research into the effects of red light on the human eye's did not seem to have any practical purpose; eventually, the discovery that our is not troubled by red light would lead  teams (among others) to adopt red light in the cockpits of jets and helicopters. In a nutshell, basic research is the search for knowledge, and applied research is the search for solutions to practical problems using this knowledge. Finally, even basic research can take unexpected turns, and there is some sense in which the scientific method is built to.

Read More

Political usage

Many issues damage the relationship of science to the media and the use of science and scientific arguments by as a very broad generalisation, many politicians seek certainties and facts whilst scientists typically offer probabilities and caveats. However, politicians' ability to be heard in the frequently distorts the scientific understanding by the public. Examples in the include the controversy over the and the 1988 forced resignation of a Government Minister for revealing the high probability that farmed eggs were contaminated with.

 Researchers from the US and Canada have described Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs), where an organization or think tank makes it their only goal to cast doubt on supported science because it conflicts with political agendas. Hank Campbell and microbiologist Alex Berezow have described "feel-good fallacies" used in politics, especially on the left, where politicians frame their positions in a way that makes people feel good about supporting certain policies even when scientific evidence shows there is no need to worry or there is no need for dramatic change on current programs.

Read More

Basic and applied research

Although some scientific research is into specific problems, a great deal of our understanding comes from the curiosity-driven undertaking. This leads to options for technological advance that were not planned or sometimes even imaginable. This point was made by Michael Faraday when allegedly in response to the question "what is the use of basic research?" he responded "Sir, what is the use of a new-born child?". For example, research into the effects of red light on the human eye's did not seem to have any practical purpose; eventually, the discovery that our is not troubled by red light would lead  teams (among others) to adopt red light in the cockpits of jets and helicopters. In a nutshell, basic research is the search for knowledge, and applied research is the search for solutions to practical problems using this knowledge. Finally, even basic research can take unexpected turns, and there is some sense in which the scientific method is built.

Read More

Certainty and science

A scientific theory is and is always open to if new evidence is presented. That is, no theory is ever considered strictly as science accepts the concept of .The philosopher of science  sharply distinguished truth from certainty. He wrote that scientific knowledge "consists in the search for truth," but it "is not the search for certainty ... All human knowledge is fallible and therefore uncertain.

New scientific knowledge rarely results in vast changes in our understanding. According to psychologist it may be the media's overuse of words like "breakthrough" that leads the public to imagine that science is constantly proving everything it thought was true to be false. While there are such famous cases as the  that required a complete reconceptualization, these are extreme exceptions. Knowledge in science is gained by a gradual synthesis of information from different experiments by various  across different branches of science; it is more like a climb than a leap Theories vary in the extent to which they have been tested and verified, as well as their acceptance in the scientific community. For example, and still bear the name "theory" even though, in practice, they are considered Philosopher adds that, although the best definition for is contested, being and entertaining the possibility that one is incorrect is compatible with being correct. Ironically, then, the scientist adhering to proper scientific approaches will doubt themselves even once they possess the. The argued that inquiry is the struggle to resolve actual doubt and that merely quarrelsome, verbal, or is fruitless but also that the inquirer should try to attain genuine doubt rather than resting uncritically on common sense. He held that the successful sciences trust not to any single chain of inference (no stronger than its weakest link) but to the cable of multiple and various arguments intimately connected.

Read More

Science policy

Science policy is an area of concerned with the policies that affect the conduct of the scientific enterprise, including often in pursuance of other national policy goals such as technological innovation to promote commercial product development, weapons development, health care and environmental monitoring. Science policy also refers to the act of applying scientific knowledge and consensus to the development of public policies. Science policy thus deals with the entire domain of issues that involve the natural sciences. In accordance with being concerned about the well-being of its citizens, science policy's goal is to consider how science and technology can best serve the public.

 Has influenced the funding of and science for thousands of years, dating at least from the time of the who inspired the study of logic during the period of the  and the study of defensive fortifications during the in China. governmental approval of in the 17th century recognized a which exists to this day. The professionalization of science, begun in the 19th century, was partly enabled by the creation of scientific organizations such as the the and state funding of universities of their respective nations. Public policy can directly affect the funding of  and intellectual infrastructure for industrial research by providing tax incentives to those organizations that fund research.director of the for the United States government, the forerunner of the wrote in July 1945 that "Science is a proper concern of government.

Read More

Women in science

Science has historically been a male-dominated field, with some notable exceptions. Women faced considerable discrimination in science, much as they did in other areas of male-dominated societies, such as frequently being passed over for job opportunities and denied credit for their work For example,(1847–1930) was able to enter a PhD program as "C. Ladd"; Christine "Kitty" Ladd completed the requirements in 1882, but was awarded her degree only in 1926, after a career which spanned the algebra of logic color vision, and psychology. Her work preceded notable researchers like and The achievements of women in science have been attributed to their defiance of their traditional role as laborers within.

In the late 20th century, active recruitment of women and elimination of institutional discrimination on the basis of sex greatly increased the number of women scientists, but large gender disparities remain in some fields; over half of new biologists are female, while 80% of PhDs in physics are given to men Feminists claim this is the result of culture rather than an innate difference between the sexes, and some experiments have shown that parents challenge and explain more to boys than girls, asking them to reflect more deeply and logically.^{: 258–261.} In the early part of the 21st century, in America, women earned 50.3% bachelor's degrees, 45.6% master's degrees, and 40.7% of PhDs in science and engineering fields with women earning more than half of the degrees in three fields: Psychology (about 70%), Social Sciences (about 50%), and Biology (about 50-60%). However, when it comes to the Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Math, Engineering, and Computer Science, women earned less than half the degrees. However, lifestyle choice also plays a major role in female engagement in science; women with young children are 28% less likely to take tenure-track positions due to work-life balance issues, and female graduate students' interest in careers in research declines dramatically over the course of graduate school, whereas that of their male colleagues remains unchanged.

Read More

Mathematics and formal sciences

Mathematics is essential to the sciences. One important function of mathematics in science is the role it plays in the expression of scientific models. Observing and as well as hypothesizing and predicting, often require extensive use of mathematics. For example and are all essential to Virtually every branch of mathematics has applications in science, including "pure" areas such as.

 which are mathematical techniques for summarizing and analyzing data, allow scientists to assess the level of reliability and the range of variation in experimental results. Statistical analysis plays a fundamental role in many areas of both the natural sciences and social sciences.

 Applies computing power to simulate real-world situations, enabling a better understanding of scientific problems than formal mathematics alone can achieve. According to the computation is now as important as theory and experiment in advancing scientific knowledge.

Whether mathematics itself is properly classified as science has been a matter of some debate. Some thinkers see mathematicians as scientists, regarding physical experiments as inessential or mathematical proofs as equivalent to experiments. Others do not see mathematics as a science because it does not require an experimental test of its theories and hypotheses. Mathematical and are obtained by derivations which presume systems, rather than the combination of logical reasoning that has come to be known as the In general, mathematics is classified as while natural and social sciences are classified as sciences.

Read More