Observation And Deduction In Modern Science

Topic 2

All the texts we have studied deal directly or indirectly with observation (including the experimental one), intuition, and deduction. If, for some reason, human beings possessed only two out of the three skills (observation, intuition, deduction), do you think it would still be possible to develop modern science?

It is true that all the texts we have studied deal directly or indirectly with observation, intuition, and deduction. These are all elements of modern science. Since they are so elemental that without any one of these three, it is impossible for human beings to develop modern science. A theory explains why something happens or how something works. Modern science is built up with valid theories that are consistent with

Observation is defined as active acquisition of information from a primary source. In science, observation can also involve the recording of data via the use of instruments. Intuition is defined as a phenomenon of the mind that describes the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. Deduction is defined as “top-down” logic which is the process of reasoning from one or more statements (premises) to reach a logically certain conclusion. In my point of view, human beings are actually able to develop a theory with intuition and deduction. Scientists can “image” a hypothesis and use deduction to reach a conclusion. However, whether the theory is true or not is unknown. The possibility of coming out a hypothesis is also reduced. Theories developed this way tend to be inconsistent with reality and are deeply influenced by

If an idea doesn’t match reality and fact, then the idea is in trouble. Experiment, a common observation method applied in scientific research, is sometimes the judge that sentence death or acquitment to theories. Spooky action, which is faster than light was proven true by Bell inequality and corresponding experiment. The truth that light has wave-partial duality was also proven by photoelectric effect experiment and Young’s double-slit interference experiment. Moreover, observation is an important source of hypotheses. Human beings generate hypotheses after reflecting observations. Darwin traveled around the world and observe every species in every different places. This help him generated theory of evolution. Also, Mendel’s original goal was not to discover Mendel’s Law, but to breed an excellent variety. It is the accumulation of observation that draw his attention and helped him generate the hypothesis of inheritance. Thus, we can see that without observation, human beings have less possibility of generating hypotheses and are unable to examine whether a hypothesis is true or not. Thus, modern science cannot be developed. As defined above, intuition can be regarded as a feeling that leads people to knowledge without inferencing or using reasoning. This means that intuition represents an unconsciousness cognitive activity, the results of which become conscious at a certain