The Science Discipline
Description:
This assignment was splint into to distinct parts. The fist of which required us to define in our own words what the discipline of science meant to us, how scholars within this discipline conduct related studies, and lastly how this particular science may differ from the other disciplines. The second part of this assignment required us to research a particular scientific study encompassing some sort of research on global warming and analyze it. What is involved in the creation of a scientific experiment, what sort of processes would a scientific scholar have to go through, and how are these type of studies conducted.
Reflection:
This particular assignment has brought me a better understanding of the science discipline through the researching I had to conduct on this subject. It also brings into perspective the value of this particular discipline and how the sciences are implemented in today's world.
Body:
Human beings are constantly learning and trying to grasp the inner workings of the world and universe around us. In order to achieve and further facilitate this type of learning, the development of a system devoted to research and understanding is necessary. This type of field is often referred to as the sciences, and encompasses a wide range of topics. From the measuring of the heavens above, tracking weather patterns in the sky, or the measuring of tidal changes along a coastline, the sciences are used to further our understanding about our world. Often times, the sciences rely on a system of numbers, values, and equations to bring a sense of order to the chaos of the natural world. Because of this, a scientific text is inherently different from other works when comparing the scientific discipline to the others. Texts and writings within the scientific field often rely heavily on recordings, experiments, and the findings of these experiments in order to properly illustrate their respective topics. For example, a scientific text measuring the rates of temperature rise in a region over the course of a specific timescale will often be filled with measurements, numbers, diagrams, and other forms of comparing and contrasting. These texts are all logic based and require a basic understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts in order to properly interpret the writings.
The actual process of science can broken down into a series of separate steps. Researchers and scientists alike rely on a standardized set of directions to properly conduct their studies and experiments. Aptly called, the Scientific Method, its system of declaring a hypothesis and repeated testing allows for unbiased observations to be conducted. In Weart's book, The Discovery of Global Warming, he goes into great detail outlining both the process of how scientific inquiries are conducted as well as the evolution of our current understanding of the phenomena known as global warming. He writes that the concept of global warming is always changing, as our use of science also does, and only through the repeated proving and disproving of theories can actual fact be deduced. This is the core of scientific inquiry, where scholars attempt to prove ideas and concepts through repeated testing and experimentation.
An example of such a study was conducted back in the 1960's, when an American scientist by the name of Charles David Keeling would prove global CO2 rise. Keeling was fascinated by the work of scientists past, such as Gilbert Plass, and was extremely interested in discovering CO2's role and amount in the Earth's atmosphere. Above all, Keeling was determined to find the causation of the CO2 in the atmosphere. In order to answer this question, Keeling would have to conduct first hand experiments in order to find accurate measurements and calculate CO2 level projections. In order to produce accurate measurements, Keeling would need to have access to such high level of equipment, that at the time no one was able to provide such advanced instruments. He resorted to working and toiling for months to build his own and was able to make some preliminary measurements on CO2 content in the air. When he conducted measurements at pristine locations in perfect weather conditions, Keeling was able to detect a baseline, average level of CO2 in the atmosphere. The question now was whether or not this level was increasing or changing in any fashion. It turns out that his question corresponded with the invention and development of the necessary equipment that Keeling needed. With the new equipment in hand and finding the necessary funding from the National Science Foundation, Keeling was able to keep up his consistent measurements. What he would discover is a remarkable increase in the CO2 levels across the board from one year to another. This data would be used to cement the foundations of global climate change theory and is a cornerstone in the scientific discussion on climate change.
This assignment was splint into to distinct parts. The fist of which required us to define in our own words what the discipline of science meant to us, how scholars within this discipline conduct related studies, and lastly how this particular science may differ from the other disciplines. The second part of this assignment required us to research a particular scientific study encompassing some sort of research on global warming and analyze it. What is involved in the creation of a scientific experiment, what sort of processes would a scientific scholar have to go through, and how are these type of studies conducted.
Reflection:
This particular assignment has brought me a better understanding of the science discipline through the researching I had to conduct on this subject. It also brings into perspective the value of this particular discipline and how the sciences are implemented in today's world.
Body:
Human beings are constantly learning and trying to grasp the inner workings of the world and universe around us. In order to achieve and further facilitate this type of learning, the development of a system devoted to research and understanding is necessary. This type of field is often referred to as the sciences, and encompasses a wide range of topics. From the measuring of the heavens above, tracking weather patterns in the sky, or the measuring of tidal changes along a coastline, the sciences are used to further our understanding about our world. Often times, the sciences rely on a system of numbers, values, and equations to bring a sense of order to the chaos of the natural world. Because of this, a scientific text is inherently different from other works when comparing the scientific discipline to the others. Texts and writings within the scientific field often rely heavily on recordings, experiments, and the findings of these experiments in order to properly illustrate their respective topics. For example, a scientific text measuring the rates of temperature rise in a region over the course of a specific timescale will often be filled with measurements, numbers, diagrams, and other forms of comparing and contrasting. These texts are all logic based and require a basic understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts in order to properly interpret the writings.
The actual process of science can broken down into a series of separate steps. Researchers and scientists alike rely on a standardized set of directions to properly conduct their studies and experiments. Aptly called, the Scientific Method, its system of declaring a hypothesis and repeated testing allows for unbiased observations to be conducted. In Weart's book, The Discovery of Global Warming, he goes into great detail outlining both the process of how scientific inquiries are conducted as well as the evolution of our current understanding of the phenomena known as global warming. He writes that the concept of global warming is always changing, as our use of science also does, and only through the repeated proving and disproving of theories can actual fact be deduced. This is the core of scientific inquiry, where scholars attempt to prove ideas and concepts through repeated testing and experimentation.
An example of such a study was conducted back in the 1960's, when an American scientist by the name of Charles David Keeling would prove global CO2 rise. Keeling was fascinated by the work of scientists past, such as Gilbert Plass, and was extremely interested in discovering CO2's role and amount in the Earth's atmosphere. Above all, Keeling was determined to find the causation of the CO2 in the atmosphere. In order to answer this question, Keeling would have to conduct first hand experiments in order to find accurate measurements and calculate CO2 level projections. In order to produce accurate measurements, Keeling would need to have access to such high level of equipment, that at the time no one was able to provide such advanced instruments. He resorted to working and toiling for months to build his own and was able to make some preliminary measurements on CO2 content in the air. When he conducted measurements at pristine locations in perfect weather conditions, Keeling was able to detect a baseline, average level of CO2 in the atmosphere. The question now was whether or not this level was increasing or changing in any fashion. It turns out that his question corresponded with the invention and development of the necessary equipment that Keeling needed. With the new equipment in hand and finding the necessary funding from the National Science Foundation, Keeling was able to keep up his consistent measurements. What he would discover is a remarkable increase in the CO2 levels across the board from one year to another. This data would be used to cement the foundations of global climate change theory and is a cornerstone in the scientific discussion on climate change.
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