1.1: What is the "scientific method"?
Description
This article is from the Scientific Skepticism FAQ, by Paul Johnson Paul@treetop.demon.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
1.1: What is the "scientific method"?
The scientific method is the best way yet discovered for winnowing
the truth from lies and delusion. The simple version looks something
like this:
1: Observe some aspect of the universe.
2: Invent a theory that is consistent with what you have
observed.
3: Use the theory to make predictions.
4: Test those predictions by experiments or further
observations.
5: Modify the theory in the light of your results.
6: Go to step 3.
This leaves out the co-operation between scientists in building
theories, and the fact that it is impossible for every scientist to
independently do every experiment to confirm every theory. Because
life is short, scientists have to trust other scientists. So a
scientist who claims to have done an experiment and obtained certain
results will usually be believed, and most people will not bother to
repeat the experiment.
Experiments do get repeated as part of other experiments. Most
scientific papers contain suggestions for other scientists to follow
up. Usually the first step in doing this is to repeat the earlier
work. So if a theory is the starting point for a significant amount
of work then the initial experiments will get replicated a number of
times.
Some people talk about "Kuhnian paradigm shifts". This refers to the
observed pattern of the slow extension of scientific knowledge with
occasional sudden revolutions. This does happen, but it still follows
the steps above.
Many philosophers of science would argue that there is no such thing
as *the* scientific method.
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