Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is science?
- 3 Choices, choices, choices
- 4 The adviser and thesis committee
- 5 Questions drive research
- 6 Giving direction to our work
- 7 Turning challenges into opportunities
- 8 Ethics of research
- 9 Using the scientific literature
- 10 Communication
- 11 Publishing a paper
- 12 Time management
- 13 Writing proposals
- 14 The scientific career
- 15 Applying for a job
- 16 Concluding remarks
- Appendix A Further reading
- Appendix B A sample curriculum
- Appendix C The Refer and BibTeX format
- References
- About the authors
- Index
2 - What is science?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is science?
- 3 Choices, choices, choices
- 4 The adviser and thesis committee
- 5 Questions drive research
- 6 Giving direction to our work
- 7 Turning challenges into opportunities
- 8 Ethics of research
- 9 Using the scientific literature
- 10 Communication
- 11 Publishing a paper
- 12 Time management
- 13 Writing proposals
- 14 The scientific career
- 15 Applying for a job
- 16 Concluding remarks
- Appendix A Further reading
- Appendix B A sample curriculum
- Appendix C The Refer and BibTeX format
- References
- About the authors
- Index
Summary
Scientists, therefore, are dealing with doubt and uncertainty. All scientific knowledge is uncertain. This experience with doubt and uncertainty is important. I believe that it is of great value, and one that extends beyond the sciences. I believe that to solve any problem that has never been solved before, you have to leave the door to the unknown ajar. You have to permit the possibility that you do not have it exactly right. Otherwise, if you have made up your mind already, you might not solve it.
Feynman, 1998Certainly a book for prospective scientists ought to explain what science is. Still, despite numerous books that treat the philosophy, character, and practice of science, there is no agreed-upon nor clear-cut and unambiguous definition of science. This holds not only for the many fields of study that have adopted methods patterned on those of the natural science, e.g., social science, psychology, economics, managerial science, and military science, but also for the natural sciences themselves. In a broad sense one might define science as the activities aimed at understanding the world around us, but it could be well argued that the arts, humanities, and many other endeavors in modern society likewise aim at understanding of the world, albeit understanding of a different sort than that sought in the natural sciences. So let's focus on the practice of natural science, which might be defined as the activities aimed at understanding of the natural world.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Art of Being a ScientistA Guide for Graduate Students and their Mentors, pp. 11 - 28Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009