What science is

Science is a systematic and structured way of understanding the material world. Firstly, scientists aim to describe material facts in an objective manner. To help fulfil this aim, they have developed a precise language and a specialist vocabulary to describe accurately what they have learnt from their observations, and to make communication with other scientists clear and non-ambiguous. That puts them in a good position to identify what it is they don’t (yet) know and then they can formulate the research questions that they need to answer, by building outwards from current knowledge. Scientific ideas and theories are continually evolving, and being revised and honed (though by no means at an even or steady pace), as further observations and new discoveries are made.

Back to main chapters