History UsefulNotes / Science

Becasue of this lot of science in fiction will boil down to the aforementioend AWizardDidIt. A spaceship is "scanning for life forms". This is fine because for the plot to move forward they probably need to find the life forms, and isn't intended to encourage deeper thoughts. The science-minded viewers are often thinking "So these people have a definition of 'life' What is this "life signature" the sensors look for? Chemical reations? Souls? How exactly do these sensors work?"

A lot of science in fiction will boil down to AWizardDidIt. A spaceship is "scanning for life forms". This is fine because for the plot to move forward they probably need to find the life forms, and isn't intended to encourage deeper thoughts.

However the science-minded viewers are often thinking "So these people have a definition of 'life'" What is this "life signature" the sensors look for? How do these sensors work?

Science comes up in a wide variety of fields, but can be grouped in four major categories: Physical (the study of non-living systems and phenomenons that occur in the universe at large; it is here where physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy appear), Life (the study of living organisms and how they interact with their physical surroundings; this is where biology and all its branches sit squarely), Social (the study of human civilization and development as well as the biomes where they live; it is here where you find geography, economics, history and sociology), and Applied (the use of the knowledge learned in the aforementioned branches to improve human development; medicine applies biology, materials science applies physics and chemistry, astronautics applies astronomy; and so on). However, not all occupations which build upon the theories and knowledge of pure sciences are considered applied sciences. Whereas an applied science ''continues'' developing that knowledge, a field where you simply learn what is already known and then make use of it to design processes, structures or equipment falls within the scope of ''engineering''. Basically, an engineer aims to solve everyday problems by making use of scientific knowledge, but unlike a scientist they have to worry about additional factors like efficiency, logistics and production costs in order to make the desired applications work.

The true nuts and bolts come from mathematics. Anyone can watch a science program and make guesses as to the nature of the universe, but if you take that guess to a scientist, they're going to tell you to ''prove it''. To prove it you'll need to show a mathematical model of how your idea works, and then show that model happening in RealLife.

Science comes up in a wide variety of fields, but can be grouped in four major categories: Physical (the study of non-living systems and phenomenons that occur in the universe at large; it is here where physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy appear), Life (the study of living organisms and how they interact with their physical surroundings; this is where biology and all its branches sit squarely), Social (the study of human civilization and development as well as the biomes where they live; it is here where you find geography, economics, history and sociology), and Applied (the use of the knowledge learned in the aforementioned branches to improve human development; medicine applies biology, materials science applies physics and chemistry, astronautics applies astronomy; and so on). However, not all occupations which build upon the theories and knowledge of pure sciences are considered applied sciences. Whereas an applies science ''continues'' developing that knowledge, a field where you simply learn what is already known and then make use of it to design processes, structures or equipment falls within the scope of ''engineering''. Basically, an engineer aims to solve everyday problems by making use of scientific knowledge, and unlike a scientist they have to worry about additional factors like efficiency, logistics and production costs in order to make the applications work.

If you don't know the calculations, and can't prove it under test conditions, then your theory won't be taken seriously by scientists. Hence why so much math is required to get a science degree.

Science in RealLife is merely the study of the nature of our reality. It's a nailing down of things that we ''definitely'' know and can say are true within certain ranges and throwing out things that are untrue or we cannot know. While science makes no promises that it can prove the big questions, like "Who are the PowersThatBe?", it does answer simpler questions that affect everyday life, and answers them quite well.

Science in media is all flashy. It's [[GratuitousLaboratoryFlasks bubbling test tubes]] and [[EverythingSensor Everything Sensors]] and doing cool stuff... ForScience! The ScienceHero or MadScientist is akin to a wizard (Like "[[AWizardDidIt a scientist did it!]]", with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands

Science in media is all flashy. It's [[GratuitousLaboratoryFlasks bubbling test tubes]] and [[EverythingSensor Everything Sensors]] and doing cool stuff... ForScience! The ScienceHero or MadScientist is akin to a wizard, with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands

Math and Science both have the same problem. The "cool stuff" used to generate interest in the subjects has little to do with the nuts and bolts of actually working the subject, and that "nuts and bolts" is boring old calculation. Math has playing with mobius strips and fun logical-thinking puzzles, and science has Mentos geysers and other flashy demonstrations. The problem is when you actually get into the math or science class what you will be doing in class is crunching numbers and learning how different equations were nailed together and simplified to create new equations. Nowhere near as fun, but a thousand times more helpful to math and science for opening up new horizons and thus leading to new flashy demonstrations.

Unfortunately as a result of that some people are uncomfortable with it and worried about [[AGodAmI human pride]] and that [[GodIsDispleased the Powers That Be may not like it]].

Science in RealLife is merely the study of the nature of our reality. It's a nailing down of things that we ''definitely'' know and can say are true within certain ranges (which most of the time for TheEveryman means "here on the surface of Earth, in the atmosphere"). While science makes no promises that it can prove the big questions, like "Who are the PowersThatBe?", it does answer simpler questions that affect everyday life.