ED4260: Why Science?

Tyler Straus Student ID#: 0538180 Course: ED4260YA Date Submitted: September 25th, 2013 Instructor: Dr. W. Melville

Science and scientific literacy are incredibly important in our daily lives; with how rapidly technology and scientific research are advancing a scientifically illiterate society will not be able to flourish on a worldwide scale. The primary goal of science is to understand the natural and humandesigned worlds. (SCCAO and STAO/APSO, Position Paper: The Nature of Science (2006), pp.1-2). I feel like this is an appropriate introductory statement for the curriculum document to use for the Nature of Science section. In my own definition of what science is I would be hard-pressed to find a more appropriate word than understand to use. Science is about answers and understanding, it can be divided into disciplines (e.g. physics, chemistry, and biology) but each field is simply seeking to understand a smaller section of the natural (or human-designed) world. In my own words: Science is exploration, it is a field of study whose ultimate goal is to attempt to answer the questions that humanity poses to ourselves. The questions arise through examining and observing the universe around us. Science is not the only field that attempts to answer the mysteries of the universe, but where science differs from philosophy and religion is the pursuit of factual evidence garnered through experiments and observation rather than through faith or merely thought. From my introduction to the nature of science I was interested in how scientific knowledge advances through time. Looking back at previous work done by early scientists the advances seemed to come slowly and some things that were hotly debated at the time seem intuitive to me. Advances in science and technology are happening very rapidly now. It took only 66 years to advance from the first manned flight (1903) to the first moon landing (1969) Humanity is not wasting time with putting things in space either, today there are over 400 Satellites in geostationary orbit (List of satellites in Geostationary Orbit, Accessed from: http://www.satsig.net/sslist.htm, accessed on September 20th, 2013). I did not take astronomy in my schooling, but I was taught to have an understanding of what scientists and engineers do and I have a reasonable understanding of technology and the means to gain

information on vast areas of science and technology. A student of science should be able to keep up with the advances in science and technology through their own private research. I feel that a critical yet open mind should be used at all times. I try not to dismiss any ideas and instead use all incoming information and evidence to form my own conclusions. Science is not static, is a fluid and evolving field of study. Scientific and technological advances are only increasing in speed. While researching and reflecting on my own ideas of science I wanted to express how rapidly things are changing in the fields of science and technology and how important it is for our knowledge to stay current. Moores Law maps the exponential growth of transistor count on integrated computer circuits, the Law shows that every 2 years the processing power is essentially doubled and this trend has been seen since 1971. (Moores Law - Wikipedia, Accessed from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law, Accessed on September 20th, 2013.) I came across a site that predicts technological advancement in the near future, if a similar trend continues in the next 5 years (the particular website uses a 12-18 month doubling time) we could expect to see a 32-fold increase in processing power over what we have today and a similar increase should be expected in the fields that utilize the advanced computational capabilities. (The Emerging Future, Accessed from: http://theemergingfuture.com/speed-technological-advancement.htm, Accessed on: September 20th, 2013). If such a trend turns out to prove true number of questions that could be answered by scientists will be an amazing thing to see. The advanced computational capabilities could be used to examine the smallest particles in the universe, to see further into the universe than we have yet to see, and to solve many issues facing humanity here on Earth. As the fields of quantum chemistry and quantum computing advance it will be harder and harder for a normal person to understand the science behind these technologies. This only encourages the need for students to become scientifically literate so that they can understand, if not the

particular sciences, the general concepts involved. I dont expect quantum chemistry to become taught in high schools any time soon but I cannot comprehend where computers and technology will push humans to in the next 10 years let alone 30 years when I should hopefully still be teaching. The concepts that are beyond the average person today could be clear to people of the future. To be scientifically literate means to understand the nature of science and to understand the advances that are to come. As a student of science I feel that science should be taught to all students to varying degrees. Not all students have an interest in the science behind technologies and scientific advances but they should be able to understand the process by which these advances have arose. All people should be provided the knowledge that will allow them to research as much of science as they wish. Students of science should be provided with the means to understand the advances that are being made in science and technology. Each student should understand how scientific knowledge is generated so that they can understand how a scientist or researcher can advance scientific knowledge or technology. I feel that as a future teacher of science the most important thing to get a student to understand is how science and technology are not simply subjects to be taught in a classroom. Science and technology are entrenched in our society and environment and will only become more so in the future. A teacher of science must encourage the pursuit of knowledge; they should have knowledge of the advances that are currently happening. As a student and future teacher of science I plan to be practice what I preach and learn along with my students because science is not a static set of information, while there are laws that have proven stable through time there is no end point in sight for scientific knowledge. Every question that science answers tends to bring more questions.