1. A serendipitous discovery in science is accidental as its name implies though some scientists try to design their experiments specifically to increase the chances of serendipity.
1.1. Penicillin, X-Rays, Viagra are all examples of serendipitous discoveries
2. Methodology (Ari)
2.1. The Scientific Method
2.1.1. The hypothetico-deductive method constructs a scientific theory that gathers data through direct observation and experimentation. Further effects are then inferred that can either be verified or disproved by empirical evidence based off of other experiments.
2.1.2. In inductive inference, scientists make many observations, discern a pattern, make a generalisation then infer an explanation or a theory.
2.1.3. Abductive reasoning starts with an incomplete set of observations and proceeds to the likeliest possible explanation. It is based on making and testing hypotheses using the best information available.
2.2. Serendipity is defined as “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”. This phenomenon has been a key factor in scientific development.
2.2.1. In relation to science, serendipity is not the same as “chance” which is another way to describe nature’s arbitrary behaviour but can rather be understood as an unexpected discovery due to specific procedures chosen to follow.
3. Scope & Application (Sam)
3.1. Scope, the extent of an area or subject matter that something deals with or to which it is relevant.
3.1.1. E.g How many forms does the area incorporate? (Physics, biology, chemistry.....)
3.1.1.1. Natural sciences are a branch of science combining biology, chemistry, astronomy, physics and earth science. The validity of the natural sciences are done through repeatability if findings and peer review to share information and validate the findings to ensure they are correct.
3.2. Application, the action of putting something into operation
3.3. Using scope and application is important with the natural sciences as it's based on observation and constructed using reason and imagination.
3.4. This area of knowledge is critical within our lives and we use it on an everyday basis to create understanding and overcome problems such as fixing climate change or pollution. This allows us to have a clearer understanding.
3.4.1. The study of the science lead to debate or new research which therefore proves facts
3.4.1.1. This is evident within the article based around zoology where they were confused with understanding natural selection and challenged each others theories or ideas to prove points and create greater understanding and more concrete evidence of why something happens.
3.4.1.1.1. Within the article provided there was testing of theory or adding provided shared knowledge which clashed with Darwin's theory. Overall the clash within the two individuals theories lead to added information on the topic of the patterns on the chameleons tail where it was discussed to be natural selection or diffusion. Though the author of the book mentions how there is no pattern within true pattern in nature. He says a zebras stripes aren't a pattern as each stripe isn't identical they're each different. Here he provides observation and creates greater understanding through research and further understanding therefore objectifying what he first applied.
3.4.2. The NOS can be applied to everyday life to create more concrete understanding around what we know. Creating reasoning through what's occuring
3.5. Natural Sciences are an area of knowledge largely based on observation and are contracted using reasoning and imagination
3.5.1. Their are many different laws of natural sciences, for eg: If x happens then y will have to happen as a result of it
3.6. Form
3.6.1. Physics
3.6.2. Biology
3.6.3. Chemistry
3.6.4. Astronomy
3.6.5. Earth science
3.7. Scope and Analysis incorporates lots of methodology
3.7.1. How?
3.7.1.1. natural sciences follow laws, shared knowledge and methods.
4. Historical Development (Adhiraj)
4.1. Natural sciences try to get to know and and indulge in the laws of nature
4.1.1. They are used to test hypothesis, basically stating that is something is hypothesised; for it to be true it has to be able to withstand experiments etc.
4.1.1.1. I will be looking at Historical Development as an area of Natural Sciences
4.2. Historical Development is the process where us human beings ask questions regarding the change in the way we look and perceive our world's History.
4.2.1. Historical development is an important part of understanding the change in the way natural sciences are perceived. The way they were percieved by our ancestors is very different to the way we percieve them now
4.2.1.1. Kuhn's Paradigm shift is the change in the basic concept and experimental practices of science.
4.2.1.1.1. Kuhn contrasts paradigm shifts. He contrasts the activities of the scientific revolution to those of normal science
4.2.1.2. Although Scientific theories might change over time, it may be said that each new theory is closer to the actual truth
4.3. We ask questions like how has our understanding of history changed over time?, how has the role of history within our society developed?
4.3.1. By asking ourselves such questions, we get to analyse and evaluate what people from those times thought about natural sciences and what we think about these sciences has developed and evolved over time.
4.3.1.1. This helps us to not repeat the mistakes that our ancestors made and also helps us to tackle these sciences with a more learned approach
4.3.1.2. There are some famous theories that were once believed to be true but are now deemed false
4.3.1.2.1. The discovery of the Vulcan, this planet was thought to be lodged between Mercury and the Sun but this was deemed wrong
4.3.1.2.2. In the 20th century, people believed that the Earth was constantly expanding but this theory was also proven wrong
4.3.1.2.3. Aristotle also believed that life could spontaneously come from general natural elements on the Earth and did not necessary have to be a product of reproduction
4.3.1.2.4. Neutrons, electrons and protons in atoms were discovered
4.4. Modern Science is very different from the Science of olden times, this is because these methods have developed and have been made better by learning from the past.
4.4.1. Take inventors and explorers for example, now more and more people who come up with new concepts or a different way to see the world are listened to and there theories are analysed, but back then these people were barely listened to and change was something that people were scared of. This is all a result of historical development
4.4.1.1. For Example, Giordano Bruno, was an Italian philosopher who came up with the theory that the Earth was not the only important thing in the universe and that there existed a extremely big universe of which Earth was just a small part, he brought this theory to light but was burnt at the stake for going against god and Christianity
4.5. Some KQ's that we can use with regards to this are
4.5.1. How is it possible that scientific knowledge changes over time?
4.5.2. How can we decide if one theory is better than the other?
5. Language & Concepts (Krishiv)
5.1. Concepts are ideas or models which explain how or why something does what it does.
5.1.1. take ideas and explain behaviours in the environment
5.1.1.1. In physics we can use the concept of gravity to explain why an apple falls from a tree.
5.1.1.2. How do we know which models are better than others?
5.1.2. Scientific metaphors are used to express macro or micro concepts, perhaps unquantifiable on a smaller scale
5.2. allows scientists to express units for different concepts.
5.3. Language is very specific or technical
5.3.1. prevents ambiguity
5.3.2. highly mathematical, difficult to comprehend
6. Personal Knowledge (Rohan)
6.1. Personal Knowledge is essentially the knowledge of a circumstance or a fact gained through a firsthand observation or experience. We can say that Personal Knowledge is more or less gained through sense perception and emotion.
6.1.1. Individuals have had large and revolutionary contributions to the scientific progress of this world
6.2. We can state that personal knowledge is essentially the basis of all scientific discoveries. Most scientific ideas formed, were based off of prior knowledge gained from someone or something else.
6.3. Combining all three sciences, Biology Chemistry and Physics, with the aid of personal knowledge, can ultimately allow humans to see the bigger picture of things and gain a better, more clear understanding of the things around them and life in general.
6.3.1. These natural sciences also make us view ourselves as material entities bound by the laws of the universe
6.3.2. A good example of a scientific discovery being based primarily off of PK, was Galileo. Roughly 400 years ago, he set up an experiment to test the hypothesis that objects accelerate when they fall. The idea of "experimentation" was mostly looked down upon by the Europeans as it was employed by the arabs at the time. Galileo's reliance on PK, ultimately led Europe to the official "scientific method" which we know today. It deals with the use of PK when it comes to the obtaining of knowledge about the scientific world.