Establishing Scientific Proof
Science (Latin - to know) is a very detailed and
systematic process of learning information about
the natural world through observation (5 senses)
STUFF by doing STUFF!
and experimentation! Learning
How STUFF works!
Science looks for repetition or patterns in nature
and tries to figure out what those patterns mean.
Humans make things by copying nature! Putting puzzles together!
How do we learn about the world? We start by
honeycomb
asking questions! Such as... Medicine – mold, penicillin
How can I improve my quality of life? (food, shelter...)
How can I find things such as oil, rocks, and other resources?
How does this work? How can I make another one?
I can’t see it, so how do I know what it is, and how can I use it?
Remote sensing (air, electricity, satellite waves, seismic waves, sound...)
How can learning about other species help us? Are there
Can we test
every question? other forms of life in the universe besides on planet earth?
Time travel?
How? What?Can anything/everything happen if given enough time?
Travel faster than light?
When?
Walk on ceiling? Flying?
Can
Science
eventually
prove
everything?
Where? Why?
Science is discovery! It is the building of human
knowledge! Everyone uses Science - even you! Fibonacci
sequence
A hypothesis is an educated but uncertain guess Common
sense?
about the natural world. It is a starting point backed
by observations. A theory is a guess (hypothesis)
that
A theory is a good hypothesis
is backed by facts from experiments. Some theories
are better (more accurate and reliable) than others
because they are backed by more facts. When a
“Red sky at night, sailor’s
theory is proven 100%, then it is called a law. delight? Red sky in the
morning, sailor’s warning. “
Prove it!
postulate / conjecture: wild starting guesses with no facts to start with
inference = logical conclusion
based on the facts
What is proof? Proof is how you prove something????
Can we say circular reasoning?
Establishing Scientific Proof - 2
Proof is the evidence or facts that show an idea
to be true. A fact is something that is known to be
Must use your five senses
absolutely true or real because it has been to establish reality!
Hammer Time!!!!
is measured
observed. Observations can be either: Something
or compared.
direct: you or someone else observes it using at least
real =
one of your five senses; no faith required here 100%
fact/law
indirect: you or someone else observes what it does or
common sense?
seeing the obvious?
Sherlock Holmes
The Mentalist
Most things can’t be
observed directly;
more things that you
can’t see than things
you can.
Ever been to Europe?
Atomic Theory?
Earth’s Interior?
Dinosaurs?
Washington?
Socrates?
how it interacts with other objects - the effects of it;
there must be something else in nature to directly compare
at least part of it to; sometimes called
circumstantial evidence; empirical evidence - math
(the numbers say it must be like this); some faith is
required here; most topics/theories use indirect
Moon landing?
A=B
and
B=C,
then
C=?
Mars?
proof. What is remote sensing?
Spectrometry?
Light from
stars?
The goal of science is to understand the world
Name a few of
around us and know what is real, eliminating
the millions of
Cause to Effect
things that you
the need for faith. But observation and or
observe
Effect to cause?
indirectly
experimentation are very limited in what
everyday?
can’t see it, so
they can actually prove 100%. Indirect:
must see what it does!
Science can never totally answer every question
Exceptions to rules?
NO!!
and can never totally prove everything
Exceptions to theories?
YES!
because experimentation is limited to:
(at least some part of the theory is present –
the present time dinosaur fossils, not the real dinos!)
observation of something physical (space/matter)
Real science must have something that can be measured or compared!
control (standard of comparison)
What does it mean for something to be scientific?
It can be tested because it has a control.
A control group is NOT the facts of the
theory. It is what the facts are compared to!
Establishing Scientific Proof - 3
What about: glaciers in Ohio’ past? dinosaurs? Pangaea?
Is the proof direct or indirect? What is
measured or compared in these examples?
Three Scientific Proofs
In order for an idea to be proven scientifically,
“Extraordinary claims require
the proof must be: extraordinary evidence.” – Carl Sagan
Observable - The process or problem
must be observed directly or indirectly.
Testable - You must be able to do a real
physical experiment that compares what you
don’t know to a known standard in nature
called a control group. Pseudoscience is
false science or an idea that cannot be tested
and proven to be either true or false because
there is nothing in nature to compare it to.
NO control = Not provable = pseudoscience.
falsifiable = testable
not falsifiable = testable - no control
Pseudoscience topics have facts to back them up –
control sowhat
they you
cant be
tested!
Testjust
= no
compare
know
to what you
don’t know
Repeatable - The exact conditions of the
proof or the experiment must be reproduced the more data, the more reliable your proof!
How
can results.
you see the same thing?
Must repeat
the many
TEST andtimes
get the SAME
Each test has two parts: the experiment group (unknown group with item being
tested) and the control group (known standard).
Brain: “Pinky, how many times do we have to
repeat our experiment before we are sure that we can
take over the world?”
Pinky: “Narf! Zort! Poit! Gat! I'm with you
Brain!”
Pretend you are giving an experimental cure
to each group, how much faith is needed to
believe each set of trials actually worked?
CONTROL GROUP
Test # 1
EXPERIMENT GROUP
CONTROL GROUP
Test # 2
EXPERIMENT GROUP
TIMES 100
TIMES 99
Success
CONTROL GROUP
Test # 3
TIMES 1000
CONTROL GROUP
TIMES 1,000,000
1
Fail
EXPERIMENT GROUP
TIMES 999
Success
Test # 4
1
Fail
EXPERIMENT GROUP
TIMES 999,999
Success
1
Fail
Experiments must have an isolated variable or independent variable – the thing that
tested. The control group and experiment group must be identical except for the thin
What is an inference again? What is the difference between a
being tested. Experiments must be repeated because it is difficult to control all varia
necessary inference
and an –
unnecessary
inference?
(only one possible conclusion)
in an experiment
keep the control
group and
exp. group identical except for the thin
Establishing
Scientific
Proof
4
tested.
A placebo is a fake drug given to the control group.
everything the same.
If a theory/problem meets all
three of these proofs and the
observations are direct, then a
fact or law has been proven.
If a theory/problem meets all
three but the observations are
indirect, then the theory is
scientific but requires at least
6 steps of the SM
some faith to believe it. The more facts/experiments,
the more believable the theory!
If a theory/problem cannot meet all three of
these proofs, then the topic is mostly faith
based and is pseudoscience.
Just because
something is
scientific does
not mean that
it is
necessarily
real! – theories
can be wrong
and change!
Just because something is NOT scientific does not mean that it
is NOT real. – just no way to test it and be 100% sure!

Real
 science must have something that can be measured or compared. Pseudoscience topics are
not necessarily wrong. They often have facts to back them up. They just can’t be tested
because they have no control (standard of comparison)