From Serendip

SCIENCE AS EXPLORATION INSTITUTE 2001

Some background

• The two cultures: a conversation
• Science and non-science: bridging the two culture gap

From this morning's conversation, and Tuesday's ...

• science re history/english?
• science re religion?
• science distinct as "problem solving"?
• science distinct as "hands-on", "inquiry-based"?
• science distinct as objective (versus subjective)?
• science as experimental? descriptive?
• where does question come from? do you need an hypothesis?
• can you use science to prove the existence of ... ?
• is science "good"?

Continuing the conversation ....

• Consider the following list of words:
  • science
  • truth
  • faith
  • fact
  • religion
  • observation
  • hypothesis
  • belief
  • theory
  • interpretation
  • opinion
  • objective
  • subjective

  Discuss similarities and differences between them, and the relations among them. Provide a brief summary of your discussion (Responses).

• Consider and discuss the following sentence (cf The Galileo Project):
  • The earth goes around the sun

  Provide a brief summary of your discussion(Responses).

• Consider and discuss the following sentence (cf Science and Creationism and Creation Science):
  • Existing life forms (including humans) are present because of a previous and ongoing process of evolution consisting of random change and selection (differential reproductive success).

  Provide a brief summary of your discussion (Responses).

• Reconsider "science" and discuss its relation to evolution, to inquiry-based pedagogy, and to the broader objectives of education. Provide a brief summary of your discussion (Responses).