Sunday, February 15, 2009

How to recognize science

A new site Understanding Science.
From the write up New resource for teachers, public on how to recognize science when you see it in physorg.com (via Evolutionary Psychology Discusion Group):
"If you think you know what science is and how science works, think again. A new University of California, Berkeley, Web site called "Understanding Science" (http://undsci.berkeley.edu/) paints an entirely new picture of what science is and how science is done, showing it to be a dynamic and creative process rather than the linear - and frequently boring - process depicted in most textbooks.
....
"The goal was to present (the concept) that testable ideas are right at the center of science, and if you don't generate testable ideas, then you are really not doing science," Kuldell said.

Testing, however, is intertwined with exploration and discovery - the "cowboy" aspect of science, in the words of one project advisor - review of hypotheses and theories by skeptical peers, and actual application of the science to real world problems.

Within the Web site, personal stories contributed by top scientists around the country illustrate the interplay of exploration, peer review and outcomes, and demonstrate the different pathways to discovery taken in different fields of science, from biology to cosmology."
P.S. Another interesting link from Evo.Psychology group:
Group decisions in humans and animals: a survey.

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