Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") refers to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice.

In its more restricted contemporary sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, and to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word. Science as discussed in this article is sometimes called experimental science to differentiate it from applied science - the application of scientific research to specific human needs - although the two are often interconnected.

Science is a continuing effort to discover and increase human knowledge and understanding through disciplined research. Using controlled methods, scientists collect observable evidence of natural or social phenomena, record measurable data relating to the observations, and analyze this information to construct theoretical explanations of how things work. The methods of scientific research include the generation of hypotheses about how phenomena work, and experimentation that tests these hypotheses under controlled conditions. Scientists are also expected to publish their information so other scientists can do similar experiments to double-check their conclusions. The results of this process enable better understanding of past events, and better ability to predict future events of the same kind as those that have been tested.

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of objective knowledge. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research.

Contents

• 1 Sourced
  • 1.1 Scientific scepticism
• 2 Unsourced
  • 2.1 Science and religion
  • 2.2 Scientists
  • 2.3 Science and culture
  • 2.4 Mistakes in science
• 3 External links

Sourced

• Always be ready to explain the hows and whys.
  • Fallout 3 -- in-game content

• Great theories are expansive; failures mire us in dogmatism and tunnel vision.
  • Stephen Jay Gould, Eight Little Piggies (1993), "More Light on Leaves"

• It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.
  • Charles Darwin, Descent of Man (introduction)

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Sat Jun 13 08:02:37 2009