Science is Interesting (and if you don't agree you can fuck off)

Obviously my fourth introductory article is about science (and don't worry - you needn't be exposed to any more offensive language. That is, if you don't watch the video below -  I know you won't be able to resist the temptation). 

What is Science?

Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Yes, that was copied and pasted from Wikipedia, I know, but this definition really doesn't do it justice. Science is the process by which humanity may undertstand the world it inhabits. It is the way that the universe (we are all products of the universe) may know itself.

Science has showed itself to be a brilliant, and probably unsurpassable, tool for ascertaining the truth of reality. It doesn't carry prejudices, hold grudges or work towards its own ends, even if the people who carry it out might not always reach these ideals. Science is universal, existing beyond religions, nation-states or ideoligies. Science binds us all together.

I could go on all day about how great science is, but I'm guessing that it would be preaching to the converted if you even got this far. So instead I've picked out my favourite fields in science, and I'll talk a little about each of them.


Medicine / Human Biology

This one's a no-brainer, not only because the human body is a truly fascinating thing, but because of the immeasurable benefits that this science has brought.

Walk over to the nearest mirror and take a look at yourself. You're staring at the product of 9 billion years of physcial and chemical evolution, from energy to the organic compounds that life is based on, followed by 4 billion years of biological evolution, from the simplest one-cell organisms to, well, you! Just think about the complex organs inside you, constantly working away to keep you alive, that have taken so long to come about.

While most sciences are driven more by curiosity (not to say that this one isn't), they usually only produce indirect benefits, whereas medical science can be translated directly into new treatments and procedures, benefiting humanity. We have medicine to thank for the fact that people with diabetes can live to adulthood, that being diagnosed with cancer is not an automatic death sentence, and that a majority of people live into their 70s and beyond (at least in developed countries).


Psychology

Go back to that mirror again and take another look at yourself (this is the final time, I promise). The fact that you can see yourself, comprehend what you see and make judgements, deductions and decisions based on this is, in itself, an amazing thing. The human mind is, in my own human-chauvinistic opinion, the most wonderful thing in the known universe. Its complexities and intriacies make it something unparalleled anywhere in nature, at least on our own planet (but that's something for another day).

Humans have walked on the moon, looked into the reality of the universe and have developed the ability to wipe out life on a planetary scale; all because of the phenomenal power of the human mind. Psychology is unique in that it is something (the human mind) trying to understand itself. It is probably the field of science that has the most unanswered questions, and the most profound implications.

There are a couple of interesting essays about approaches in psychology on my blog written by a friend which are well worth reading. Personally, I see the cognitive approach as the best path to follow in attempting the understand the human mind, in particular the computational model of the mind, in which the brain acts as a sort of incredibly powerful and versatile computer.


Physics / Astrophysics

Physics has a special place in my heart. For a while I was intent on pursuing it as a career, but decided that it would not bring about the direct benefit to others that medicine does, so should just remain as an interest.

But now to physics itself. Physics is usually considered to be the purest of the sciences if we don't include mathematics, as it deals with the universe at its most fundamental level. It is one of the most diverse fields in science, covering everything from gluons to galactic superclusters, and certainly one of the most interesting. Many of the big questions of physics have been answered to an extent, but many remain, most prominently the search for a 'theory of everything'.

Physics has recently made a come-back into the public interest, with major projects such as the Large Hadron Collider, discoveries such as the (possible) faster-than-light neutrinos, and even television programmes such as The Big Bang Theory. We live in an exciting time for physics (and television!).

I have a particular interest in astrophysics; the study of celestial bodies - stars, galaxies, nebulae, quasars, black holes and a whole host of others. What originally sparked my interest in astrophysics was the sheer scale of the universe and the structures it contains. The universe contains between 10 sextillion and a septillion stars. That's 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, which is over a million times more than the number of grains of sand in all the deserts and beaches on the earth.


Here's your reward for getting to the end!






So that's science in a nutshell! If there's one section of my blog that there will always be something to talk about, it's this one.


-  Daniel