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Process & Nature of Science
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| Asking Questions | ||
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Asking questions is a big part of the process of science - finding possible answers and testing them is the fun (and sometimes frustrating) part! Questions currently being explored by scientists cover topics ranging from the galaxies to our minds. Questions like:
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| Strongest Bite | ||
 For the first time, scientists have calculated the force of the bite of a white shark. The bite of the largest of white sharks turns out to be not only the most powerful for any living species yet measured, but probably among the most powerful even for any extinct species. Click here to read more from Discover Magazine. Text and image from Discover Magazine. |
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the Process of Science
The process of science, as represented here, is the opposite of "cookbook" (to see the full complexity of the process, roll your mouse over each element). In contrast to the linear steps of the simplified scientific method, this process is non-linear, dynamic, and even somewhat unpredictable - just like science!
The process circles back on itself so that ideas are tested and retested - and the most useful of those ideas are built upon and used to learn even more about the natural world. You can use this flowchart to trace the development of different scientific ideas and/or the research efforts of individual scientists. Most ideas take a circuitous path through the process, shaped by unique people and events.
How Science Works Flowchart © Understanding Science
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Scientists' journeys are often full of surprises, leading them down unexpected paths of discovery. The journeys below represent the stories of scientists who have mapped their research pathways on the process of science flow chart above. We have asked them to share a turning point in their research.
Our tale of a whale: Dave and Nick's scientific journey
Dave Lindberg and Nick Pyenson
Nick Pyenson and I experienced a true AHA! moment as we were struggling to find an explanation for the evolution of sonar in whales. We were looking at a situation where the biggest whales were diving the deepest to feed on giant squid in a pitch black setting. These whales had highly developed sonar. Makes good sense, but how could that have evolved? Sure, the evolution of sonar would have provided the opportunity to dive deep, but historically what initiated that behavior? We kept looking at various scenarios, BUT we were focusing on the predator, not the prey! We were only looking at the behavior of the whales not at the behavior of the cephalopods on which they were feeding! The cephalopods came to the surface every night and then dove back down to the depths. The whales simply followed them!
Click to read more about how Dave and Nick explored their discovery!
Polyp or Medusa? A Chicken-Egg Story
Ever since Darwin showed that life has a history, debates have been waged about the nature of particular ancestors. What were they like? In a group of animals that I study, Cnidaria (anemones, corals, jellyfish, hydroids, etc.), this debate can be summarized as a question: Which came first, the bottom-dwelling polyp or the swimming medusa (aka jellyfish)? The answer may lie in a little known group of animals called Stauromedusae (or stalked-jellyfish). These beautiful animals live on the bottom of the sea like polyps, but have some features in common with swimming jellyfish. The popular view had been that Stauromedusae were simplified descendants of ancestors with a swimming medusa stage. But, our studies using fossils, morphology, and molecular data show that Stauromedusae arose earlier than the groups with swimming jellyfish. In other words, the ancestral cnidarian lived on the bottom. So, the answer to the question (at least for now - this is science after all!) is that the polyp, just like the egg, came first.
Click to read more about how Allen explored his discovery!
Connecting the silica dots: Caroline's scientific journey
As Albert Einstein famously stated, "imagination is more important than knowledge" when it comes to science. The following example shows, I think, that science also benefits from the willingness to take risks. This is what I (and my dissertation committee) did when I decided to try these mysterious things called "phytoliths" as a means to reconstruct the evolution of grasslands in the Great Plains of North America.
Click to read more about how Caroline explored her discovery!
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