AoK: Natural Sciences Flashcards
What are natural sciences?
Those that study the natural world & ourselves as a biological species within it
What is the scientific method?
Several strict stages that arrive at a demonstrable conclusion, that defines an investigation as truly scientific
What is causation?
What makes something directly occur
What is correlation?
When two events are linked, because they share a third factor or they have happened at the same time
What is qualitative data?
Anything that gives us subjective information that may involve values and opinions about something
What is quantitative data?
Anything that gives us objective, value-free information about something
Which is the main applied method in the natural sciences?
Observation
What makes knowledge collective within the natural sciences?
That there are contributions within the same models & theories
Which are the steps for the scientific method?
- Observation
- Problem
- Hypothesis
- Testing
- Theory
- Law
How do the natural sciences and sense perception relate?
Sense perception is the basis of science
How do the natural sciences and intuition relate?
Intuition is the first step in the research process
How do the natural sciences and language relate?
There is a difference between the language used within the scientific community and the general public
How do the natural sciences and imagination relate?
Creativity is used in the creation of hypothesis
How do the natural sciences and reason relate?
It works with the correspondence check (evidence)
How do the natural sciences and emotion relate?
It is human beings who create science and their feelings are part of the context in which they work
What is a paradigm?
Accepted theories that fill in details of the overall patterns of connections
What is a pseudo-science?
Discipline that may claim to follow the scientific method, but does not do so in a strict way
Which are some characteristics of pseudo-science?
- Theories that cannot be empirically tested
- Use of ad hoc hypotheses to try to save the theory
- Selective use of data
- Use of personal anecdotes as evidence
- The use of myths or ancient mysteries to support theories
Scientists tend to look for generalizations with which characteristics?
- True
- Universal
- Applicable to the world
How are ideas presented by scientists?
- Background
- Supporting details
- Conclusion
In science, what are peer reviews?
The examination & evaluation of a scientific paper by scientists working in the same or a related field
What is “the butterfly effect”?
Tiny variables can affect major outcomes
In science, what are models?
Simplified abstractions of the world
