Science Knowledge Survey

Science Knowledge Survey

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Poll

Science is primarily a search for truth.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science is primarily a search for truth

“Truth” means different things to different people. To many, it implies “the revealed truth” of God or other deity or authority, considered to be absolute, final, and always correct, regardless of observations or studies that may suggest alternative explanations. Science does seek to understand natural phenomena, based on study and analysis of observed evidence, and tries to get an accurate picture of the real, natural world, but several unavoidable limitations always make this an uncertain approximation. Nevertheless, science has been so successful in getting close enough to an accurate understanding of many natural phenomena that it has led to healthier and longer lives, more efficient agriculture, and engineering marvels.

Poll

Science can solve all kinds of problem or questions.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science can solve all kinds of problem or questions.

Science can only solve problems of the natural world - not the supernatural. If understanding of apparent supernatural phenomena is desired, science must adopt a working hypothesis that there is a natural explanation, which can be tested and studied scientifically.

Poll

Science is mostly concerned with understanding how the natural world works.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science is mostly concerned with understanding how the natural world works.

Questions about the supernatural, or ethics, or beauty, or opinions or politics are really not suitable subject matter for science. Science can be used to provide understanding about the natural world that may inform those other areas of human interest, but where opinions, beliefs or “feelings” are dominant elements, science has limited application. 

Poll

Science can use supernatural explanations if necessary.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science can use supernatural explanations if necessary.

4. Supernatural explanations cannot be used in science because such explanations cannot be  tested. Natural forces can be tested, meaning that they can be reliably shown to not work under specified conditions,and this would be predictable. A supernatural or mysterious force is, by definition, beyond natural laws and therefore unpredictable, and could cause various outcomes in any given test. 

Poll

Astrology (predicting the future from stars and planets) is a science.

• Agree

• Disagree

Astrology (predicting the future from stars and planets) is a science.

Astrology is a “pseudoscience” - often presented as being supported by “scientific evidence.” All such“evidence” has been fully discredited upon critical examination. Furthermore, the mystical connection between human behaviors and the positions of heavenly bodies is clearly a supernatural connection (see #4). Don’t confuse with the legitimate science of astronomy.

Poll

Science requires a lot of creative activity.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science requires a lot of creative activity.

Much creativity is needed for suggesting possible natural explanations (hypotheses), as well as for developing clever ways to test those explanations.

Poll

Scientific solutions are all equally temporary or tentative.

• Agree

• Disagree

Scientific solutions are all equally temporary or tentative.

Virtually all scientific statements start off as being tentative. But with testing, many are replaced with better explanations, some become reinforced (increasing the likelihood of their validity), and a few become so well substantiated that they become widely and generally accepted as “reality” - e.g., the Earth is a globe - not flat.”

Poll

A "hypothesis" is just an "educated guess" about anything.

• Agree

• Disagree

A "hypothesis" is just an "educated guess" about anything.

A hypothesis is typically a tentative, testable explanation. Many textbooks and teachers use the overly simplistic definition of “an educated guess.” Unfortunately, this leads students to assume that the predicted result of an experiment to test a hypothesis is the hypothesis - that what is actually a prediction IS the hypothesis. In this class a hypothesis is an IF(independent variable) Then(dependent variable) BECAUSE(conclusion) statement.

Poll

Scientists can believe in God or a supernatural being and still do good science.

• Agree

• Disagree

Scientists can believe in God or a supernatural being and still do good science.

Scientists exhibit the same wide range of religious views as the general population -with various beliefs about the nature and role of God - and as long as they avoid the use of God as the immediate cause for any phenomenon in the science that they do, they can be very effective scientists.

Poll

Science is most concerned with collecting facts.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science is most concerned with collecting facts.

Because scientific understanding must be based on real-world observations, observed facts (‘data”) are an important part of scientific work. However, its major concern is with what the facts show us, what do the facts “say” that help us to understand how our natural world works? (see #3). Facts are just part of the means of getting there.

Poll

Most engineers and medical doctors are also scientists.

• Agree

• Disagree

Most engineers and medical doctors are also scientists.

Engineering and medicine are two fields where the findings of science are applied. Most engineers or doctors do not do experimental science: formulating and testing hypotheses. Some do, and some do the science and practice its applications, but experimental science is not typically part of an engineer’s or doctor’s life.

Poll

A scientific fact is absolute, fixed, permanent.

• Agree

• Disagree

A scientific fact is absolute, fixed, permanent.

A scientific fact is typically defined as an observation confirmed repeatedly by many critical observers. With improved tools, or new ways of observing, some scientific facts can be replaced with new facts. At one time, it was generally accepted as a fact that humans had 48 chromosomes in each cell. Later studies using improved techniques showed that there are only 46 chromosomes. The fact changed.

Poll

Science can be done poorly.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science can be done poorly.

Correct statement. As in any human endeavor, some people are better at it than others, some are just not very good at doing science at all, and some scientists are even fraudulent. Fortunately, the ethics of science requires scientists to publish their work in peer-reviewed journals, where other scientists can critique the work and even repeat the work, so that sloppy or unreliable studies do not survive. Poor scientists don’t last long in the field.

Poll

A scientific theory is only a guess.

• Agree

• Disagree

A scientific theory is only a guess.

A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, incorporating facts, laws, inferences and well-tested hypotheses. In common usage, “theory” means a guess or speculation -far different from its scientific use. Unfortunately, even scientists will use the word in its vernacular sense,when they should be saying “hypothesis” or “hunch,” and this leads to much confusion. Users of “theory”should make very clear which meaning is intended, or avoid using the word.

Poll

Scientists have solved most of the major mysteries of nature.

• Agree

• Disagree

Scientists have solved most of the major mysteries of nature.

Every scientific study that attempts to increase our understanding of some natural phenomenon alwaysraises new questions and new problems. It has been estimated that science has just “scratched the surface” ofthe depths of our ignorance about the natural universe. Most of our ignorance is “Deep Ignorance” - things wedon’t even know we don’t know! In other words, the more we learn, the more we realize how much we don’tknow. Students interested in a career in science needn’t worry about having problems to work on!

Poll

Science can study and explain events that happened millions of years ago.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science can study and explain events that happened millions of years ago.

Correct statement. Just as forensic scientists (CSI) can often come to learn who committed the crime in a fairly recent event, just by seeking and analyzing the evidence, paleontologists and astronomers can determine with fairly high confidence just what happened in the distant past to produce what we see today, just from the clues they seek and find. This is “historical” science, often lacking the steps of “experimental science” that The Scientific Method seems to suggest must characterize any legitimate science. Methods of historical science are just as effective in getting reliable answers as the experimental sciences.

Poll

Knowledge of what science is, what it can and cannot do, and how it works, is important for all educated people.

• Agree

• Disagree

Knowledge of what science is, what it can and cannot do, and how it works, is important for all educated people.

Many of our current problems could have been prevented or reduced if political leaders, business leaders, and the voting public recognized how good science is done, and how its reliability is measured. The growing and undeniable evidence of man-made global warming (over natural warming) has been strongly (and increasingly) supported by scientific studies. Too many people in power, and most of the general public who could have created pressure, have simply not understood the potential benefit and power of science. 

Poll

Modern scientific experiments usually involve trying something just to see what will happen, without predicting a likely result.

• Agree

• Disagree

Modern scientific experiments usually involve trying something just to see what will happen, without predicting a likely result.

There is still some of this (more common in earlier science). But most studies involve the testing of hypotheses, with predictable outcomes that differ depending on whether the hypothesis is correct - or not.

Poll

Anything done scientifically is always accurate and reliable.

• Agree

• Disagree

Anything done scientifically is always accurate and reliable.

“Scientific” is way overused, often applied to sell products, services or ideas when not deserved. Science can range from well-done to very poor (see #13), and even extend into the pseudosciences, where “studies” may claim to be “scientific,” but fail to follow one or more rules of science. So, just because it’s called “science” is no guarantee that it’s accurate and reliable. On the other hand, if it’s legitimate science, it’s more likely to be accurate and reliable than if it’s just based on some casual observations or anecdotal experiences.

Poll

Scientists have observed that nature apparently follows the same "rules" throughout the universe.

• Agree

• Disagree

Scientists have observed that nature apparently follows the same "rules" throughout the universe.

Correct statement. This was once just a basic assumption of science, but over the years, repeated observations have confirmed the correctness of that assumption. We’ve had to refine and modify some old ideas (e.g., Newton’s laws of motion to Einstein’s rules of relativity at velocities near the speed of light), but they are clearly and observably universal as far as we can tell.

Poll

Scientists often try to test or disprove possible explanations.

• Agree

• Disagree

Scientists often try to test or disprove possible explanations.

Correct statement. This is the heart and soul of science. If a possible explanation cannot be subjected to testing - efforts to show that it does not work - then the explanation is pointless (see #4). This testing is much like the testing of the safety of a car by crashing it into a wall; if the dummies in the car “survive,” the design is a good one. Likewise, if the hypothesis survives the testing, it’s probably a good one.

Poll

Science can be influenced by the race, gender, nationality, or religion of the scientists.

• Agree

• Disagree

Science can be influenced by the race, gender, nationality, or religion of the scientists.

Science is done by people, who have the same biases anyone might have, and these biases do influence how we see the world, and what explanations might come to mind to help us understand that world. The beauty of science is that its rules tend to minimize the impact of bias and personal opinions on its solutions. With the requirement for publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and other scientists repeating the studies, personal biases tend to be discovered and eliminated.

Poll

All scientific problems must be studied with The Scientific Method.

• Agree

• Disagree

All scientific problems must be studied with The Scientific Method.

Textbooks tend to imply that there is only one “Scientific Method” and encourage students to memorize the steps, as if that was the only way real science could be done. Overlooked are the many variations in approaches followed in different fields of science (see #16 for one example). Also often overlooked are the several critical aspects of science collectively termed “The Nature of Science” or NOS. This includes a clarification of what science IS and is NOT, its realm (limited to the natural world), its limits, rules and assumptions, its tentativeness, the role of biases, and its social nature (collaboration and peer-reviewed publishing).

Poll

Disagreement between scientists is one of the weaknesses of science.

• Agree

• Disagree

Disagreement between scientists is one of the weaknesses of science.

Quite the contrary. Passionate disagreement leads to mutual critiquing of methods and ideas, and searches for more evidence, ultimately leading to resolutions that bring us closer to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon. This is a decided strength of science.

Poll

Any study done carefully and based on observation is scientific.

• Agree

• Disagree

Any study done carefully and based on observation is scientific.

Certainly, we would hope that any good science is done carefully and be based on observation, but not alone. This might work for a purely descriptive part of science (e.g., describing and classifying beetles). Butany study worthy of being called “scientific” must include critical analyses of the findings, seeking explanations for what is observed, and testing those explanations.