What is Science?

Science is a topic that many turn a blind eye to after they got lost in one of the aspects of it and declared it just wasn’t for them. This is partially the fault of the media, definitely governmental bodies, educational systems, and the greater part of the Western society. Parents mostly get a pass on this topic as the parents of school-age children today are victims of the same intentional misinformation their children are receiving.

As it was defined to my first grade daughter, Science is the process of trying to understand the world around you through observation, experimentation or study. Quite simply, you use the established empirical scientific method to determine what you can say and what cannot say is known to be true through observation of the results of studies and experiments.

For those who have forgotten, the chain starts with an observation of a something unknown or different, then an educated guess as to why something works the way it does or a hypothesis, followed by creating an experiment(s) to test the hypothesis from every potential angle, collect the data, analyze the data to see if the experiment results match the hypothesis. Repeat the process until you can demonstrate in an experiment that can be repeated by others that your hypothesis is correct. Only after extensive review and testing can a hypothesis hope to gain the level of a theory. This is the definition of science used up until about 4th-5th grade when curriculum in the public schools deviates from empirical science into scientific philosophy.

What is Scientific Philosophy?

This is what a collection of individuals want to believe is true about science. This rests outside of true demonstrable science as many of these concepts are impossible to experiment or truly study. Be careful though on this. There are a number of high level concepts that are unproven because we currently do not possess the technology to make observations with or know-how on what experiment to do.

For the ease of clarification of whether it is a limitation on our part or a permanent limitation of the idea, a very simple rule of thumb is based on time. When is the suggested concept taking place? If the answer is Now then we are likely lacking the means of testing it. If it is to take place in the future or the past and cannot be duplicated in the here and Now, it will forever remain a belief and not a part of what most consider true science. However, this is where those who wish to gain influence over the minds of others choose to obscure what science is with word play or semantics. Confusing the masses that largely do not care is just as good as winning them over.

All that leads to what is pushed heavily in the media today which is Scientism. Scientism can be summarized as a belief in an inerrancy of scientific statements. You’ve seen this stated as “scientists claim” or “a top scientist said” or any other permutation on that. Those that use these phrases, including some textbooks, revert to using the ignorance of the majority against them as if their select sources know better. This is to manipulate and control the people into living their lives they way the manipulators want them to live with disregard to truth and what science really is.

So throw up a major red flag when you see those words used in the newspaper, on a TV show, or in a lecture. Ask yourself instead a series of questions. When did this supposedly happen? Was it observed or is it a guess? Has this idea been proven to be true by many independent scientists or are they cherry picking?

Lastly always remember a few things on this topic. Science is NOT a democracy. What a majority believes is irrelevant in science. What can be PROVEN is what matters. If one source can disprove a hypothesis or theory, then the theory or hypothesis has to go back to the drawing board.