Hello and welcome, to 'All of Science Explained'. As you can probably imagine, we have a lot to cover, so allow me to begin. Science is a tool we use to understand our universe. It's a method that builds and organises knowledge about our world, through explanations and predictions. We can use it to question and investigate reality. Turning curiosity, into extremely reliable answers. It's never finished, and that's a good thing. It means current truths and laws can be overwritten, should new evidence present itself.
For example: the long-held geocentric model (which placed Earth at the centre of the universe) was the dominant view for centuries. Then one day, along came Galileo with his shiny new telescope. And told everyone the Earth isn't the centre of the universe, actually.
Oh yes it is, said the Catholic Church.
No it isn't, said Galileo. See Venus, it's going through phases like our Moon so it's probably orbiting the Sun, not Earth. Besides there are four moons orbiting Jupiter over there, proving not everything circles Earth.
Nah, said the Catholic Church we don't like that one bit. In fact, we hate it so much, we're putting you (and your evil telescope) under house arrest for the rest of your life... to recite psalms or something. Oh, and you have to tell everyone that you made it all up, thanks.
How terrible, thought Galileo, I wish I'd have kept my mouth shut like old Copernicus. Oh well, at least now I'll be known as the godfather of science.
Anyway, on to The Scientific Method
The point of my previous anecdote is that science flows. In other words, it's not a stagnant set of facts. Even if certain groups say otherwise. At the core of science, is the scientific method - the engine that powers science. Allow me to provide you with an over-simplified framework of the process:
- Ask a Question
Let's suppose you have a slightly odd friend, who swears their plant grows faster when they sing to it. This leads to a clear, observable question: 'Does singing to plants make them grow faster?' - Do Background Research
You search online and find some studies that suggest singing might help indirectly via increased sound vibrations or extra carbon dioxide from breath (exhales through mouth). This helps you refine your approach and avoid reinventing the wheel. - Construct a Hypothesis
Based on your research, you make an educated guess: 'If I sing to my plants daily, then they will grow faster than plants I do not sing to, because sound vibrations or extra carbon dioxide from my breath will stimulate growth.' Nice work! - Design and Conduct an Experiment
You buy 20 identical seedlings and divide them into two groups of 10. One half will be subject to your wonderful vocals, and the other will be left in lonely, sad, silence. You keep everything else the same: same soil, pots, light, water, temperature, and location. This controls variables. Over 4-6 weeks you measure and record the height of the plants every day. Singing to the selected group each morning (dodooodoodiloodoooo). - Analyse the Data and Draw Conclusions
Once the experiment has concluded, you calculate the growth for each group and find the plants that received your sweet serenades are on average twice as tall as those that didn't. - Communicating the Results
It seems your weirdo friend was on to something, so you share the findings with him. He tells you he's going to repeat the experiment with 'new variables', on a mass scale - for research purposes.
Now, the process I've just outlined ensures conclusions are evidence-based, not just anecdotal. As I said at the start of the video, science turns curiosity into reliable answers. In summary, the scientific method is a systematic, evidence-based process that turns questions into reliable knowledge. By observing, researching, hypothesising, experimenting, analysing, and sharing what you find.
The Disciplines of Science
Science can be applied to anything, by anyone. We frequently use it in daily life, often without even realising it. We broadly categorise science into three distinct disciplines, which can be built upon should new findings expand our current knowledge. The disciplines allow us to specialise in specific areas, meaning we can go deeper into unexplored realms than ever before. Here's a brief overview of the three main branches of science:
First, the Formal Sciences. Which include:
- Mathematics: the language of patterns, and numbers.
- Logic: where we figure out if statements are true or false.
- Statistics: which turns data into somewhat reliable 'proof'
- Computer Science: things like teaching machines to do your homework, then worrying they'll take your jobs.
The Formal Sciences aren't about observing the universe - they're about reasoning, axioms, and formal systems. Some argue that they're not real science, but without them, we would be guessing and nobody likes guessing.
Then, there's the Natural Sciences which cover:
- Physics: why things fall, fly, explode, or sometimes have a quantum-spasm.
- Chemistry: where you mix stuff to make new stuff.
- Biology: exploring life in all its messy, evolving glory.
- Earth Sciences: covering rocks, volcanoes, weather, and this handy thing called our atmosphere which keeps us alive.
- Astronomy: where we stare at the stars and realise we're tiny, insignificant, specks in a vast cosmos.
Natural Sciences are the classic 'hard' science crowd: empirical, testable, and full of 'laws' (until someone breaks them with new evidence). Using the scientific method, they study the physical world, from teeny, tiny, subatomic particles to big, juicy, galaxies.
And finally, the beloved Social Sciences covering:
- Psychology: why people do bizarre things sometimes like joining cults or claiming the world is flat.
- Sociology: how groups of people manage to cooperate... or perhaps not.
- Economics: why money makes the world go round... or crash spectacularly.
- Anthropology: studying cultures, from ancient tribes to modern day meme lords.
- Political Science: where we look at power, governments, and why politicians are so good at avoiding questions.
The Social Sciences are all about applying scientific method to humans, who have way more variables. It turns out pesky free will is an absolute nightmare to control. They're empirical too, but messier because people are unpredictable. Critics refer to them as the 'soft' sciences, but it's hard to predict the stock market or human behaviour without them.
As you might expect, the branches overlap like crazy. For example, neuropsychology mixes biology and psychology; econometrics merges maths and stats. And then there's applied sciences, like engineering and medicine. They take all this knowledge and actually build stuff or fix things. All of this is to say, science isn't siloed. It's a constantly evolving web, with no strict boundaries between disciplines.
Science is the Best Tool We Have for Mapping Reality
Seems like science isn't just a bunch of facts in old, dusty, textbooks, or nerds in lab coats. In a way, it's the ultimate cheat code for navigating reality. It powers the modern world and keeps humanity from living short, brutal lives rubbing sticks together for warmth and running from lions, tigers, and bears.
A scientific theory is NOT a wild guess, which should be obvious to you by now. It's a rock-solid explanation backed by mountains of evidence. It doesn't claim to have all the answers, but it's the best we know so far, and it's always ready for updates whenever new evidence shows up. That said, science does have limits. It excels at explaining how the universe works, but it doesn't give you life's ultimate why, moral absolutes, or whether having 9 wives (fun) is better than having just one (boring). For meaning and purpose, we turn to philosophy, art, and religion. But, I won't be getting into that in this article.
Now, the nice thing is, you don't need a PhD to think like a scientist. In everyday life, you can question claims, hunt for evidence, watch out for confirmation bias (cherry-picking facts that suit us), and above all; be willing to change your mind.
The Future of Science
Let's wrap things up with a quick look at the future of science. You see, technology is evolving faster than ever: gene-editing with CRISPR, quantum computers cracking impossible problems, clean fusion energy, deeper space exploration, and AI pushing boundaries - which is great, so long as it doesn't annihilate us. It won't be perfect, and at times will get messy. After all, it's done by flawed humans, who occasionally get it completely wrong (using nuclear weapons). But good news: it's self-correcting, evidence-driven, and the most reliable way we've ever found to understand our universe. So embrace it, question with it, and stay curious. After all, every breakthrough starts with someone wondering, 'What if...?'