CrazCo Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Basically we just have to write a page on what you think the most important quality of a scientist is. I have began and decided to write about skepticism. I jotted down all I could think of about why this is an important value of scientists, but it fails to meet the page-length standard. Could someone maybe give me an idea or two as to why it is?
ecoli Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 I'm guessing you didn't met the page length standard because you haven't wrote enough... Or is that not what you were asking? I disagree that skepticism is the most important quality, by the way.
CrazCo Posted January 30, 2008 Author Posted January 30, 2008 Yes, I don't have enough detail. Skepticism is probably not the best-fit answer, so that is probably why I am struggling. I have made it this far, so I think I'm going to keep with it. If you were to choose skepticism what would you have said to back it up?
swansont Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Think of the processes of science — you want to test hypotheses and try and falsify them, which is a skeptical approach, because merely trying to find evidence that agrees with they hypothesis doesn't test it sufficiently; there may be more than one possible explanation. So you have to approach the tests you devise with the view of finding results that would only hold if the hypothesis was right, and would give a different result if the hypothesis was wrong. So requiring evidence, and having a standard of what constitutes evidence, is a skeptical approach.
CrazCo Posted January 30, 2008 Author Posted January 30, 2008 Thanks Swansont. ! That is a very good point.
chemkid Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Be absolutly critical of every experiment and demand more evidence and answers to your every last question. Refuse to take i don't know as an answer. Critically survey every piece of data. Assume everything is false. Chemkid
hermanntrude Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Assume everything is false. Chemkid including chemkid's answer :0)
iNow Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 It might be interesting to discuss in your paper the line between a skeptic and a denialist.
Ozone Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Above all, tell the truth. Even a failed experiment has provided results. Cheers, O3 Sorry about the one liner, but this can go on forever without prior composition.
thedarkshade Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 The Ultimate Situation! I've had in mind that phrase for a long time. I think it's about what scientists think world will be when they have a scientific explanation about everything, literally everything. So you know all about everything, then what? Then everything would be science, and that's what scientists love.
CrazCo Posted January 31, 2008 Author Posted January 31, 2008 Thanks to everyone, I'll have many more science questions in the future.. first year of biology is not so fun
thedarkshade Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Depends on the kind of biology! I always hated when we had to deal with plants:doh:!
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