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"Science" gets thrown around a ton to refer to about 5 billion different things. There's the scientific philosophy; the results of an experiment; the consensus

"Science" gets thrown around a ton to refer to about 5 billion different things. There's the scientific philosophy; the results of an experiment; the consensus of a peergroup; the entirety of all disciplines that require consistently, repeatable evidence before thinking of making a claim; the entirety of all disciplines that think one-off but repeatable in theory evidence is a-ok; baking soda volcanoes... Some other really weird ones: engineering, design, art, math And my favorite: programming I generally find conflating any two of these different things to be problematic enough that "science" is a useless word.

skyde 5y ago
Your statement really resonate with me as a scientist (phd) and a father. I want my kid to learn science at an early age (not baking soda volcano). But more how would you go about testing an hypothesis (design of experiments) how do you know if the result are statistically significant? if it’s statistically significant is it enough to say it’s true (light can behave like a particule and like a wave so is it both or neither ...)
- kilburn 5y ago
  You want your kids to learn the scientific method [1], not "science" ;) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
  - skyde 5y ago
    exactly! I think most teacher just teach random fact about plants weather molecule ... and think they did a great job. But they rarely teach the scientific method.
- MarcScott 5y ago
  Don't knock the baking soda volcano. I made one with my son when he was about 7 or 8. There's a little engineering that goes into constructing the paper mache structure. A little art in painting it to look realistic. Some chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions. Then there's the filming/presentation of the project, for a little media savvy. +1 if you can get your hands on some ammonium dichromate for an even more impressive, but more dangerous demonstration. These types of "experiments" are less about teaching science, and more about impassioning a love and interest for science.
  - skyde 5y ago
    "chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions." This is exactly the part I think is less important. My goal is not for my kid to learn a subset of chemistry theory from the explanation in a book or some fun experiment. Instead my goal is for them to understand why the human race now have this knowledge. How did the first chemist came up with the theory, how did they verify the theory was correct ... why do we now believe this is how atoms work.
bakuninsbart 5y ago
The meaning of the word has changed substantially, a long time ago science was "what is known" or "knowledge acquired by study". [1] There was a shift in the English language in the 19th century, when the Scientific Method was formalized, and science communities grew and became influential. The meaning of science was narrowed down to "these studies that use the scientific method", with philosophy, maths and others being left out more and more. This isn't true in other languages/science traditions though. In German for example, all fields share the word "Wissenschaft", which literally translates to science. [1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/science https://www.etymonline.com/word/science

skyde 5y ago

Your statement really resonate with me as a scientist (phd) and a father. I want my kid to learn science at an early age (not baking soda volcano). But more how would you go about testing an hypothesis (design of experiments) how do you know if the result are statistically significant? if it’s statistically significant is it enough to say it’s true (light can behave like a particule and like a wave so is it both or neither ...)

kilburn 5y ago
You want your kids to learn the scientific method [1], not "science" ;) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
- skyde 5y ago
  exactly! I think most teacher just teach random fact about plants weather molecule ... and think they did a great job. But they rarely teach the scientific method.
MarcScott 5y ago
Don't knock the baking soda volcano. I made one with my son when he was about 7 or 8. There's a little engineering that goes into constructing the paper mache structure. A little art in painting it to look realistic. Some chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions. Then there's the filming/presentation of the project, for a little media savvy. +1 if you can get your hands on some ammonium dichromate for an even more impressive, but more dangerous demonstration. These types of "experiments" are less about teaching science, and more about impassioning a love and interest for science.
- skyde 5y ago
  "chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions." This is exactly the part I think is less important. My goal is not for my kid to learn a subset of chemistry theory from the explanation in a book or some fun experiment. Instead my goal is for them to understand why the human race now have this knowledge. How did the first chemist came up with the theory, how did they verify the theory was correct ... why do we now believe this is how atoms work.

bakuninsbart 5y ago

The meaning of the word has changed substantially, a long time ago science was "what is known" or "knowledge acquired by study". [1] There was a shift in the English language in the 19th century, when the Scientific Method was formalized, and science communities grew and became influential. The meaning of science was narrowed down to "these studies that use the scientific method", with philosophy, maths and others being left out more and more. This isn't true in other languages/science traditions though. In German for example, all fields share the word "Wissenschaft", which literally translates to science. [1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/science https://www.etymonline.com/word/science