What is Science?
Man by nature is curious. He wants to know and understand the world where he lives. Science began with the man’s first attempt to observe and understand the things around him. More and more men observed and understand the things around him. More and more men observed closely and saw a connection between certain things and events. The beginning of Science was passed orally at first and later through written records. Through the years, things and their behavior were classified. Man continues his study to understand nature so that he may able to control it for the enrichment of human life.
SCIENCE is defined as a body of facts, which has been systematically classified and correlated to serve as a basis for the discovery of general truths. Science progresses by seeking relationships among things and processes. In science, evidence rules thinking.
It is generally believed that science deals with indisputable facts and absolute truths. But sometimes, even though the facts are indisputable, they are usually incomplete. And, giving meaning to incomplete facts that lead to theories, which are only rough approximations of the truths. Therefore, science is regarded as an evolving subject approaching the truth but never quite reaching it.
Subdivisions of Science
Science is divided into the study of living things as embodied in the Biological Sciences as well as the study of non-livings things as contained in the Physical Sciences.
Physical Sciences include:
Chemistry is the science, which deals with the study of matter – its properties, composition, structure, the changes it undergoes and the laws and principles governing these changes.
Physics is the study of the properties, behavior and interaction between matter and energy.
Astronomy is the science of the universe outside our own planet.
Mineralogy is the science if minerals.
Geology is the study of the earth’s structure.
Meteorology is the study of weather and climate.
Combination of astronomy, geology and meteorology is what called Earth Science.
The application of scientific principles to a specific purpose is called technology. This technology may take the form of a new device, a new process, a new procedure, a new substance or a new product. The ultimate beneficiaries are you and everybody, in particular and the society, in general.
Groups of people who interact with each other using the same technology form a society. Often a society by the name of technology like Stone Age refers to the technology shared by people in a time period of the past.
A society can determine, within the limit of invention, what technology it wants to have. For example, a society can choose to have a technology that includes the pesticides DDT, even though it is harmful to many birds, or it can reject DDT and look to alternative means of destroying insect pests. People representing many societies can agree to limit a technology such as the use of chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs), if that technology appears to damage the environment. A society can chose if its best interests are met by reliance on nuclear power, or it can reject nuclear power for the other sources of energy because of known hazards. Such choices are not made because of available technology; they are made because society perceives substantial benefits from the choice of such technology. Technology is not science. It is usually a product of science and that society should wisely harness the benefits to improve the quality of life.