Science makes several claims such as the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing diseases, climate change due to human activity, explanations for how the universe and life came to be, and a multitude of others. How does science justify what it claims to know? Do scientists just make up stuff and tell us to believe them? The answer is an astounding no.
Meet the scientific method. It is what scientists and researchers use to understand and explain the world around us and its application has gifted humanity with significant technological advancements. This is evidenced by the existence of the device I'm using to compose this blog and the device on which you're reading it, all of which are the fruits of humanity applying the scientific method. Without science, there would be no electricity, antibiotics, planes, cars, trains, internet, computers, smartphones, rockets, artificial intelligence, and numerous others. In fact, every single item which I have mentioned would appear to be magic to any Homo sapien, the species to which both you and I belong, living just 500 years ago. Try explaining the internet to them, they would have burned you alive for suspected witchcraft— before germs were discovered as the cause for diseases, witchcraft was thought to be the culprit and those females who were suspected to be witches were burnt at the stake. What a relief to not be living in a pre-scientific world!
So, have we individually and biologically become remarkably smarter within the past centuries? Of course not. We did not become more intelligent, but we have become much more knowledgeable. Without a doubt, we have now reached an unimaginable and unprecedented understanding of the physical world that we live in. Consider how we can confidently erect a skyscraper, knowing in advance that it won't collapse. How do we manage to do that? Many would give Newton's laws of motion as the answer to that question, and they're correct. His laws enabled us to grasp a fine understanding of the physical laws that govern our world, allowing us to calculate every force exerted on every concrete pillar and confidently claim that it would not collapse before even constructing it. But delving deeper, how did Newton derive his laws of motion? How do scientists derive anything? What enables science to work astoundingly well? The profound answer, as I've highlighted, is the scientific method. To understand what it is, we must travel back over 2,300 years to ancient Greece and meet Aristotle, an influential philosopher who proposed a logical method for comprehending the natural world through empirical observation. This method served as the cornerstone for what would become the scientific method, as we know it today.
Image of Aristotle. This image was created with the assistance of DALL·E 3.
Foundation of the Scientific Method
Aristotle asserted that conclusions derived from careful observations of the natural world could serve as a basis for establishing overarching principles (i.e., premises and theories), this is known as inductive inference. These general principles can then be used to formulate hypotheses (i.e., untested explanations) for more specific observations, providing a basis for further testing. The process, where specific inferences are drawn from premises, is called inductive inference, and it is used to refine, reject, or confirm the preimises themselves. For clarity, I'll provide a simple example for each process to illustrate.
Inductive inference (Specific to broad)
Observation: Everytime I drop an apple, pen, or ball, it falls to the ground.
Inference: All objects fall to the ground when I drop them.
Deductive inference (Broad to specific)
Premise 1: When it's hot, I will sweat.
Premise 2: It is hot during the day.
Inference: I will sweat when I'm out during the day.
The Scientific Method Today
"Observation, reason, and experiment make up what we call the scientific method." -Richard Feynman
Having grasped Aristotle's methods of inductive and deductive reasoning, let's now delve into the contemporary scientific method. In its succinct form, the scientific method involves three essential steps:
(1) Observation: wherein one systematically observes and identifies phenomena in the world
(2) Hypothesis formulation: generation of a plausible explanation for the observed phenomena
(3) Testing: hypotheses are rigorously examined and subjected to empirical (i.e., observable) testing with the possibility of falsification (i.e., proven to be false).
If a hypothesis is falsified through testing, it indicates that the hypothesis doesn't explain the observation. An alternative explanation/hypothesis for the observation must be developed and subsequently tested again (repeat steps 2 and 3). This scientific method, employed by scientists over centuries, has yielded a vast body of knowledge leading to our unprecedented technological advancements over the past 500 years. That itself is a testament of its effectiveness that no reasonable person can deny.
Flowchart of Scientific Method. This was created using SlidesGo.
The Process of the Scientific Method
However, those 3 steps are just the simplified form. In reality, it's much more viogourous and comprehensive than that. The figure below displays the main steps of the scientific method employed by scientists and researchers today (Walisiewicz & Celtel, 2023).
Flowchart of Scientific Method (Full Version). This was created using Canva.
Steps 1 and 2 pertain to observation and hypothesis formulation, while steps 3 to 6 essentially represent the testing process. These processes are likely familiar to you. What's introduced here is step 7—peer review. This phase involves a meticulous process in which a researcher's or scientist's work undergoes evaluation by experts in the same field. Peer review engages experts from diverse institutions and countries who, in almost all cases, do not know the researcher or scientist whose work that they are reviewing. This means that there's little room for biases. Subsequently, the reviewers independently assess the quality, validity, and significance of the research before it undergoes publication (Step 9). This process ensures a fair and impartial evaluation by knowledgeable professionals across global academic communities. It also aims to guarantee that the work aligns with the high standards of the scientific community. Every research paper published by a reputable scientific institution goes through these rigorous processes.
After the publication of new findings, researchers and scientists will analyse and search for gaps in our current understanding of the topic and repeat the entire process again. Imagine millions of them across the world repeating this 24/7, giving birth to newfound knowledge that shapes our understanding of the world. Additionally, scientific claims are not based on the results of a single experiment, or even 50 experiments. Every scientific claim is constantly tested by scientists and researchers all around the world. The more experiments and tests that support a particular claim, the more confident we can be about that claim being true. Similarly, the more experiments and tests that go against a particular claim, then the less confident we can be about that claim being true.
This image was created with the assistance of DALL·E 3.
Science Aims to Prove Itself Wrong!
This is the most important aspect about the scientific method, which many seem to not understand. Having grasped the scientific method, you would realise that scientific inquiry is an ongoing and vigorous process that constantly challenge our existing knowledge. The key word here is “challenge” not “maintain,” not “protect.” This sets science apart from other methods of knowing, as scientists are incentivised to falsify each other, with substantial rewards awaiting those who succeed. For instance, any scientist today capable of falsifying Einstein's theory of general and special relativity would instantly win a Nobel prize and become one of the greatest scientists in history—yet, despite numerous tests over the past century, it remains unfalsified. You could Imagine the scientific community as an international community consisting of the world's top minds, dedicating their lives to disproving each other's work to advance their careers—worth noting, they also advance by scrutinising, falsifying, and refining their own work! In other words, science is self-correcting. In fact, science advances by proving things wrong.
"Science is the only self-correcting human institution, but it also is a process that progresses only by showing itself to be wrong." -Allan Sandage
Conclusion
This blog post is meant to showcase the robust standards and processes of the scientific method that scientists and researchers use to derive and justify knowledge. It is also meant to highlight that scientists are highly incentivised to falsify what we currently know today, making scientific inquiry a self-checking process that works tirelessly to weed out false explanations about the world, leaving only the most accurate explanations standing. This highlights science as a dynamic process driven by the pursuit of knowledge, refinement of theories, and the continuous quest to challenge what we currently know, to achieve a more accurate understanding of the world. Speaking of theories, did you know that a 'scientific theory'' has a different meaning compared to our everyday use of the word 'theory'? Well, I'll save that one for another post, so be sure to sign up to be notified!
By learning about the scientific method and its robustness, I hope you've gained a greater appreciation for what it entails and the amount of hardwork put in by researchers and scientists and, in turn, have greater trust in the scientific community. At the start of this blog, I mentioned that the scientific method is used by scientists to understand and explain the world. However, that's not entirely accurate. The scientific method has been used by every one of us since childhood, as we carefully observed the world, formulated hypotheses in our tiny heads, and tested them to confirm or reject them. It's not reserved for scientists alone; not only it's a tool for all of us to use when acquiring knowledge, but it's also a way of thinking which challenges us to question our beliefs, worldview and understanding of the world, enabling us to refine it, and move closer towards a more accurate understanding of our reality.
"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." -Carl Sagan
References
Walisiewicz, M., & Celtel, K. (Eds.). (2023). Timelines of science.
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