超标-变心
Unit 10
Scientific Attitudes
Text A
Science had its
beginning when man started asking questions about
his
environment
. He wondered
where the sun went at night and why the sky was
blue. He questioned why the wind blew and the
leaves fell. He sought answers to these
and other questions. Not all his answers were
correct, but at least he did want to know.
Curiosity
and
Imagination
Science began
to develop rapidly when man laid aside his wrong
beliefs and began to seek true explanations. Young
children are curious about how things work. The
child wants to take
apart
a
watch
to see what makes it work.
Benjamin Franklin wondered about
lightning. He combined his curiosity with
imagination and carried out his well-known
experiment to show that lightning and an electric
spark are the same thing.
Curiosity and
imagination are important qualities which help
stimulate
the discovery of
new facts and advance science.
Belief in Cause
and Effect
Scientifically
minded people
believe in a
“
cause-and-
effect
’’
relationship
. They feel
there is a perfectly explanation for everything.
For example, there is a good reason why some
leaves turn red and
others yellow in
the fall. Changes such as these, which are easily
observed, are called
phenomena
. Some common
phenomena, however, are not completely understood.
Still others cannot be explained at
all
at this time. In cases where the explanation is
unknown
the
scientific
point of view is
that there is a reason if it can only be
discovered.
Being
Open-Minded
Open-mindedness
is also
extremely important to a scientific
attitude
. This means the
ability to face the facts as they are
regardless
of what one has
previously
thought. It
includes an ability to
accept new and
sometimes even
disagreeable
ideas. The worker in science must face facts
whether they are pleasant or
unpleasant
. He must expect
many
failures
and be willing
to try again. Thomas
Edison failed
thousands of times before he succeeded in
producing the first electric lamp.
The
solutions
to real problems
cannot be seen in advance. Scientists must be able
to change their
thinking
and
to
adapt
their theories to
new facts as they are discovered. The mind cannot
be made
up once and for all. New
knowledge may make a change in thinking necessary.
This is another way of saying that
man
’
s understanding is
always less than
perfect
.
What is accepted as true often is
relatively, and not absolutely, true. A
scientific truth offers an explanation that is
acceptable
only in the light
of what is known at a particular time.
Respect for the
views of others
Another part of
a scientific attitude is respect for the views of
others. This is easy when these views are like
one
’
s own. The difficulty
comes up when their ideas are different. Views
which are
entirely
new or
foreign may also be hard to accept.
New ideas are
frequently
very slow to be
accepted. Scientists such as Galileo, Louis
Pasteur, and Edward jenner were laughed at because
they held theories that were not accepted. Respect
for new
ideas is important for
continued progress in all fields of knowledge.
Opinions Based on Evidence
Sometimes
evidence
is
not
complete.
It
may
take
time
for
new
facts
to
become
available.
When
they
are
available,
a
person
may
have
to
change
his
mind.
New
findings
may
also
require
a
“
wait-and-
see
’’
attitude. For example,
there is an experiment on the
sprouting
of seeds which has
been running for more than 50 years. The purpose
is to
determine
how long a
time seeds can be buried
in the ground
and still grow when proper conditions for
growth
exist.
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Text
B
Solving problems Scientifically
There
are
scientific
ways
in
which
man
solves
problems.
Once
his
curiosity
has
been
aroused
,
he
uses
certain
methods
and
procedures
to
obtain
new
knowledge
and
greater
understanding.
Although the methods are not always the
same, there are usually certain elements in the
procedures that are similar.
Recognizing the
problem
Problems must first of all be
recognized. The right answers can be obtained only
if the right questions are asked. A thoroughly
understood
problem is well
started toward
solution
. Problems
arise
in a variety of ways.
Sometimes they grow out of a chance observation.
They may result from reading, from laboratory
experiments, or simply from thinking.
They
also
may
result
from
new
developments
or
from
new
or
different
human
needs.
Today,
for
example,
problems
are
arising
from
new
discoveries
in
the
fields
of
nuclear
physics,
biological
engineering
and
microelectronics
. The
development of industry has also brought about
large numbers. Of problems which have to be
solved.
Collecting
Information
Next, the scientist tries to learn as
much as possible about it. Often this means going
to the library and studying books which contain
accounts
of
man
’
s experience
and knowledge of the problem. This is
called searching the literature
The scientist may find that others have
already solved all or a part of the problem.
Occasionally he finds answers to closely
related
questions, which
give clues for solving the new one. In his
search the scientist accumulates much
background
information. With
these new ideas and facts he builds a firm
foundation for solving the problem.
.
Organizing the
Information
After the scientist has
finished this part of his work he will probably
take the many facts which he has collected and
organize them into some kind of system. This
may be a
logical
classification or it may be a
mathematical
analysis
. Usually the
analysis will show
unanswered
questions.
Sometimes it will suggest areas that are in need
of further study. Perhaps one
of the
most important results of such an analysis is that
it
indicates
certain truths,
which generally are called inferences.
Making a
Hypothesis
In making an
inference
the scientist has
built up a
hypothesis
. A
hypothesis is only a
“
best
’’
guess. It must next be
tested.
If it is correct, then certain things
should follow. This means if a particular
experiment is carried out, certain observations
ought to be possible or it should out, certain
observations ought to be possible
or it
should be possible to make certain
predictions
.
Should
the
observations
or
predictions
turn
out
to
be
as
expected,
the
scientist
has
added
confidence
in
the
probable
truth
of
his
hypothesis.
If,
however,
observations
cannot
be
made
or
the
predictions are
unreliable
, then the
hypothesis will probably be given up or at least
modified
.
The
Experiment
The
hypothesis
must
check
with
the
facts.
Scientific
facts
are
usually
established
by
work
in
the
laboratory.
Experiments
have
to
be
made
under
carefully
controlled
conditions. Thorough and
accurate
records must be
kept.
In making certain kinds of
experiments in science
variables
are used. A
variable is something which has different values
under different conditions. In one type of
laboratory test all the
variables but
one are controlled. This method of testing is
called controlled
experimentation
.
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