• Question: What is Science to you? xx

    Asked by amberstephie to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Science is a way of understanding the world and how things in the world work.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Science is the explanation for everything. OK, so we don’t know enough yet to actually be able to explain everything scientifically, but I hope that one day we will!

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      To me, science is one of the greatest achievements of humans. It is our best method of reliably finding out about the world around us, and it has shown itself to be a very good method! Using it, we have left footsteps on the moon, saved countless lives with hygienic practices and modern medicine, and learned about how humans came to exist on earth.

      So, to me, science is very important, and very interesting. And to be part of it, in my job, is a great feeling!

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Science, to me, is the best method that we have for understand the natural world. It is a way of thinking, which, when applied properly, can allow us to extracts truths about life and the universe. Science isn’t just a path to truth, it is also a path to beauty. To reveal the hidden workings of the things around us, it shows us connections between seemingly unrelated things. It shows that the same forces that cause the movement of the planets are the ones that cause things to move down here, on earth. It shows that all living things are connect to one another, not just in complex ecosystems, but that we are all tied to one another by a single, common ancestor.

      Science is also hope. It is the means by which we must overcome our technological problems, from feeding an ever growing population of people to tackling climate change, to bringing us into the future.

      Finally, and possible most importantly, science is humbling. It is a force that supresses the ego, and puts us in our place in the cosmos. When the NASA cassini probe turned around, it took a photo of the earth, which appeared as nothing more than a dot:

      This image does better than anything else to show us our real significance. The earth is barely visible, but yet that is where we call home. Ever person who has ever lived was on the surface of that dot. Every one that you will ever know, or ever hear about, comes from this dot. All the wars that have ever been fought, have been for temporary ownership of a fraction of a dot. That sends a shiver down my spine, and makes me realise just how meaningless people are when they fight over the ficticious lines which divide countries, or over irrelevant political or religious differences. Perhaps, one day, we will be able to make it onto another dot. That would be the greatest achievement humankind could make.

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