Re: Bug#361418: Debian menu and the Apps/Science section
Ben Burton <bab@debian.org> wrote:
>
> > >FWIW, I would argue that mathematics is not a science -- it does not use
> > >the scientific method, there is no hypothesis and experimentation -- it
> > >is a more self-contained discipline that, while it seeks to be useful,
> > >is not bound to modelling the physical world.
> >
> > I think of new ways to try and simulate things faster or in a simpler
> > way. Then i'll write the simulation and try the ideas and measure its
> > performance and accuracy. This applied mathematics is very much like
> > a real-world engineering problem with hypothesis and experimentation.
>
> Hmm, perhaps I didn't express myself properly. Of course, any
> discipline can use hypothesis and experimentation, from the arts to
> astrology.
>
> What I mean is: in the physical sciences, hypothesis and experimentation
> are fundamental to building "scientific truth". This is because the
> basis of science is trying to understand the physical world, formulating
> theories that explain what is seen, and then testing and refining these
> theories. This is what the "scientific method" is for.
My 8 year-old daughter was learning about "the scientific method" in
school and asked me about it. I replied that I'd tell her, but that
it's not used by all disciplines. In my experience, it's mostly
biologists who start with an hypothesis to test. I certainly don't
publish the testing of an hypothesis in my work.
--
Peter Galbraith, Ph.D., research scientist <GalbraithP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>
Ocean and Environmental Science Branch
Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
P.O. Box 1000, Mont-Joli Qc, G5H 3Z4 Canada. 418-775-0852 FAX: 775-0546
6623'rd GNU/Linux user at the Counter - http://counter.li.org/
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