What is Science?

• Science – the study of the natural world
• Science – a frequently misunderstood process by which new knowledge is obtained

Introduction to the Scientific Method

• The word “Science” is derived from the Latin verb meaning “to know.”
• A process known as the Scientific Method outlines a series of steps for answering questions about the natural world
  • The Scientific process is less structured than most people realize
  • Few scientists adhere rigidly to its prescription (which is a good thing…)

• Step 1: Observation or asking a question
  • Science occurs when someone is curious
  • The first scientists only sought to explain the natural world around them (why does it rain, why are days longer in summer than in winter, etc…)
• Step 2: The Hypothesis
  • A hypothesis is a tentative answer or solution to the question or problem at hand
  • A good hypothesis is structured as an “if-then” statement (i.e. if "A" happens then "B" will occur)
  • Hypotheses are general causes or explanations of phenomena
  • Hypotheses reflect past experience with similar questions or situations
  • Multiple hypotheses should be proposed whenever possible
  • Hypotheses must be testable
    • If you cannot disprove it (or at least come up with a way to invalidate the hypothesis), it isn’t a valid hypothesis
  • Hypotheses can be eliminated but never confirmed with absolute certainty

• Deduction – general premises are extrapolated to specific examples
  • Sherlock uses what he as learned from previous cases to create a possible scenario based upon the specific clues left at the scene of the crime
  • Sally used what has previously been studied about the behavior of mice to interpret the behavior of her pet rat
• Induction – reasoning from a set of specific observations to form a general conclusion
  • Sherlock has observed the clues from several linked crimes to create a profile of the criminal
    • From this profile, he will be able to predict the criminal's future intentions
    • Are these predictions using inductive or deductive thought?
  • In science, inductive thought is often called "model building."

• Hypotheses 1 - The Feeding Hypothesis:
  • Giraffes have long necks because the long necks enable them to reach food that is unavailable to others.
  • Giraffes have long necks so that they can better feed on leaves on tall trees that other animals cannot reach
  • This was so logical that it was never tested…until now bwahahahahaha…..
  • Studies were done and they determined that giraffes feed at heights approximately 40 -60% of their height
    • Click here for photo
  • However, some giraffes feed at full height – the breeding males, for example
  • These observations do not support the feeding hypothesis, so this hypothesis has fallen out of favor.  A new hypothesis must be created
• Hypothesis 2: The Mating Combat Ritual (Simmons and Sheepers)
  • Giraffes have long necks because long necks are effective weapons for one male against another during mating.
  • This study was more observational in nature – it was difficult, if not impossible, to experimentally test their hypothesis
  • Does this make it scientifically less sound?
    • Actually, most science is done in this way – observation and inductive thought are often more common than experimentation and deductive thought
    • This doesn’t make it bad science, it just makes it a different way to perform science
  • Assumptions of the hypothesis:
    • Giraffe neck length is variable
      • Zoo studies confirm this
    • Giraffe neck length is heritable
      • They couldn’t do in-depth mating experiments, so it was assumed that this was true
  • Observations
    • The long neck aids the males in ritualized mating behavior – the males beat each other with their heads in mock combat and to the winner goes the right to mate
      • The ritualized mating behavior was observed in nature (this was the basis of this hypothesis)
      • No other organism does this specific type of combat, but ritualized combat is common among mammals (look at elks and rams)
    • Observations were made – the giraffes with the longer necks were at an advantage in these combats
      • The longer necks allowed the males to generate  more momentum and, therefore, hit harder
      • When you knock a rival down, you get to breed and pass your long-neck genes to your offspring
    • More observations
      • Measurements were done and males have a proportionally longer neck than do females
      • After the body quits growing, the head and neck continue to grow, strengthening the neck and adding thicker bone to the skull
    • Other questions:
      • why do females have longer necks, since they don’t need to beat each other up for the privilege of mating?
      • Why don’t giraffe necks continue to elongate indefinitely?
      • Was this selection for longer necks to increase mating combat efficiency always present in giraffes or is it a newer evolutionary novelty?
    • The scientists themselves said that this is not the end-all answer and invited other scientists to add to or argue against their findings

• If you ever see a study that claims that it was performed at a “major mid-western university” don’t believe it!
  • Publication is the lifeblood of science – any study worthy of discussion is worthy of citation
• If “scientists” are ever shown who doesn’t state where they work or from where they got their Ph.D., don’t believe them either!