GEOLOGY 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Scientific Method, Sulfur, Volcanism
Document Summary
Conclusions & models may be non-unique and dependent on intuition & experience. Emphasis on the collection & interpretation of field data. Art & science of "geologizing" - geocognition. Scientists collect "facts" through observation & measurements, but facts are secondary to understanding. Goal of science is to discover patterns in nature & use the knowledge to make predictions. It"s not what you know, but how you know it! How or why things happen are explained using: Collection of data without regard to theory. Expect explanation will become apparent from organization & synthesis of large data sets. Devised model(s) account for set of observations, and used to make predictions about nature. Hypothesis (model): a tentative (or untested) explanation. Theory: a well-tested & widely accepted view that the scientific community agrees best explains certain observable facts. Law: statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some phenomenon of nature with high degree of confidence (does not always explain why it happens)
