Formal science

Formal science is an area of study that generates knowledge using formal systems.[142][19][20] A formal
system is an abstract structure used for inferring theorems from axioms according to a set of rules.
[143]
 It includes mathematics,[144][145] systems theory, and theoretical computer science. The formal
sciences share similarities with the other two branches by relying on objective, careful, and
systematic study of an area of knowledge. They are, however, different from the empirical sciences
as they rely exclusively on deductive reasoning, without the need for empirical evidence, to verify
their abstract concepts.[24][146][138] The formal sciences are therefore a priori disciplines and because of
this, there is disagreement on whether they constitute a science. [21][147] Nevertheless, the formal
sciences play an important role in the empirical sciences. Calculus, for example, was initially
invented to understand motion in physics.[148] Natural and social sciences that rely heavily on
mathematical applications include mathematical physics,[149] chemistry,[150] biology,[151] finance,
[152]
 and economics.[153]

Applied science

A steam turbine with the case opened, such turbines produce most of the electricity used today

Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge to attain practical goals and
includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine.[154][27] Engineering is the use
of scientific principles to invent, design and build machines, structures and technologies. [155] Science
may contribute to the development of new technologies. [156] Medicine is the practice of caring for
patients by maintaining and restoring health through the prevention, diagnosis,
and treatment of injury or disease.[157][158] The applied sciences are often contrasted with the basic
sciences, which are focused on advancing scientific theories and laws that explain and predict
events in the natural world.[159][160]
Computational science applies computing power to simulate real-world situations, enabling a better
understanding of scientific problems than formal mathematics alone can achieve. The use
of machine learning and artificial intelligence is becoming a central feature of computational
contributions to science for example in agent-based computational economics, random forests, topic
modeling and various forms of prediction. However, machines alone rarely advance knowledge as
they require human guidance and capacity to reason; and they can introduce bias against certain
social groups or sometimes underperform against humans. [161][162]

Interdisciplinary science
Interdisciplinary science involves the combination of two or more disciplines into one, [163] such
as bioinformatics, a combination of biology and computer science.[164] The concept has existed since
the ancient Greek and it became popular again in the 20th century.[165]

Scientific research
Scientific research can be labeled as either basic or applied research. Basic research is the search
for knowledge and applied research is the search for solutions to practical problems using this
knowledge. Most understanding comes from basic research, though sometimes applied research
targets specific practical problems. This leads to technological advances that were not previously
imaginable.[166]

Scientific method
A diagram variant of scientific method represented as an ongoing process

Scientific research involves using the scientific method, which seeks to objectively explain the events
of nature in a reproducible way.[167] Scientists usually take for granted a set of basic assumptions that
are needed to justify the scientific method: there is an objective reality shared by all rational
observers; this objective reality is governed by natural laws; these laws were discovered by means
of systematic observation and experimentation.[168] Mathematics is essential in the formation
of hypotheses, theories, and laws, because it is used extensively in quantitative modeling,
observing, and collecting measurements.[169] Statistics is used to summarize and analyze data, which
allows scientists to assess the reliability of experimental results. [170]
In the scientific method, an explanatory thought experiment or hypothesis is put forward as an
explanation using parsimony principles and is expected to seek consilience – fitting with other
accepted facts related to an observation or scientific question. [171] This tentative explanation is used
to make falsifiable predictions, which are typically posted before being tested by experimentation.
Disproof of a prediction is evidence of progress. [167]: 4–5 [172] Experimentation is especially important in
science to help establish causal relationships to avoid the correlation fallacy, though in some
sciences such as astronomy or geology, a predicted observation might be more appropriate. [173]
When a hypothesis proves unsatisfactory, it is modified or discarded. [174] If the hypothesis survived
testing, it may become adopted into the framework of a scientific theory, a logically reasoned, self-
consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of certain natural events. A theory
typically describes the behavior of much broader sets of observations than a hypothesis; commonly,
a large number of hypotheses can be logically bound together by a single theory. Thus a theory is a
hypothesis explaining various other hypotheses. In that vein, theories are formulated according to
most of the same scientific principles as hypotheses. Scientists may generate a model, an attempt to
describe or depict an observation in terms of a logical, physical or mathematical representation and
to generate new hypotheses that can be tested by experimentation. [175]
While performing experiments to test hypotheses, scientists may have a preference for one outcome
over another.[176][177] Eliminating the bias can be achieved by transparency, careful experimental
design, and a thorough peer review process of the experimental results and conclusions. [178][179] After
the results of an experiment are announced or published, it is normal practice for independent
researchers to double-check how the research was performed, and to follow up by performing
similar experiments to determine how dependable the results might be. [180] Taken in its entirety, the
scientific method allows for highly creative problem solving while minimizing the effects of subjective
and confirmation bias.[181] Intersubjective verifiability, the ability to reach a consensus and reproduce
results, is fundamental to the creation of all scientific knowledge. [182]

Scientific literature
Main articles: Scientific literature and Lists of important publications in science
Cover of the first issue of Nature, November 4, 1869

Scientific research is published in a range of literature. [183] Scientific journals communicate and

document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions,
serving as an archival record of science. The first scientific journal, Journal des
sçavans by Philosophical Transactions, began publication in 1665. Since that time the total number
of active periodicals has steadily increased. In 1981, one estimate for the number of scientific and
technical journals in publication was 11,500. [184]
Most scientific journals cover a single scientific field and publish the research within that field; the
research is normally expressed in the form of a scientific paper. Science has become so pervasive in
modern societies that it is considered necessary to communicate the achievements, news, and
ambitions of scientists to a wider population.[185]

Challenges
The replication crisis is an ongoing methodological crisis that affects parts of the social and life
sciences. In subsequent investigations, the results of many scientific studies are proven to
be unrepeatable.[186] The crisis has long-standing roots; the phrase was coined in the early
2010s[187] as part of a growing awareness of the problem. The replication crisis represents an
important body of research in metascience, which aims to improve the quality of all scientific
research while reducing waste.[188]
An area of study or speculation that masquerades as science in an attempt to claim a legitimacy that
it would not otherwise be able to achieve is sometimes referred to as pseudoscience, fringe science,
or junk science.[189][190] Physicist Richard Feynman coined the term "cargo cult science" for cases in
which researchers believe and at a glance looks like they are doing science, but lack the honesty
allowing their results to be rigorously evaluated. [191] Various types of commercial advertising, ranging
from hype to fraud, may fall into these categories. Science has been described as "the most
important tool" for separating valid claims from invalid ones.[192]
There can also be an element of political or ideological bias on all sides of scientific debates.
Sometimes, research may be characterized as "bad science," research that may be well-intended
but is incorrect, obsolete, incomplete, or over-simplified expositions of scientific ideas. The term
"scientific misconduct" refers to situations such as where researchers have intentionally
misrepresented their published data or have purposely given credit for a discovery to the wrong
person.[193]

Philosophy of science
For Kuhn, the addition of epicycles in Ptolemaic astronomy was "normal science" within a paradigm, whereas
the Copernican revolution was a paradigm shift.

There are different schools of thought in the philosophy of science. The most popular position
is empiricism, which holds that knowledge is created by a process involving observation; scientific
theories generalize observations. [194] Empiricism generally encompasses inductivism, a position that
explains how general theories can be made from the finite amount of empirical evidence available.
Many versions of empiricism exist, with the predominant ones being Bayesianism[195] and
the hypothetico-deductive method.[194]
Empiricism has stood in contrast to rationalism, the position originally associated with Descartes,
which holds that knowledge is created by the human intellect, not by observation. [196] Critical
rationalism is a contrasting 20th-century approach to science, first defined by Austrian-British
philosopher Karl Popper. Popper rejected the way that empiricism describes the connection between
theory and observation. He claimed that theories are not generated by observation, but that
observation is made in the light of theories: that the only way theory A can be affected by
observation is after theory A were to conflict with observation, but theory B were to survive the
observation.[197] Popper proposed replacing verifiability with falsifiability as the landmark of scientific
theories, replacing induction with falsification as the empirical method.[197] Popper further claimed that
there is actually only one universal method, not specific to science: the negative method of
criticism, trial and error,[198] covering all products of the human mind, including science, mathematics,
philosophy, and art.[199]
Another approach, instrumentalism, emphasizes the utility of theories as instruments for explaining
and predicting phenomena. It views scientific theories as black boxes with only their input (initial
conditions) and output (predictions) being relevant. Consequences, theoretical entities, and logical
structure are claimed to be something that should be ignored. [200] Close to instrumentalism
is constructive empiricism, according to which the main criterion for the success of a scientific theory
is whether what it says about observable entities is true. [201]
Thomas Kuhn argued that the process of observation and evaluation takes place within a paradigm,
a logically consistent "portrait" of the world that is consistent with observations made from its
framing. He characterized normal science as the process of observation and "puzzle solving" which
takes place within a paradigm, whereas revolutionary science occurs when one paradigm overtakes
another in a paradigm shift.[202] Each paradigm has its own distinct questions, aims, and
interpretations. The choice between paradigms involves setting two or more "portraits" against the
world and deciding which likeness is most promising. A paradigm shift occurs when a significant
number of observational anomalies arise in the old paradigm and a new paradigm makes sense of
them. That is, the choice of a new paradigm is based on observations, even though those
observations are made against the background of the old paradigm. For Kuhn, acceptance or
rejection of a paradigm is a social process as much as a logical process. Kuhn's position, however,
is not one of relativism.[203]
Finally, another approach often cited in debates of scientific skepticism against controversial
movements like "creation science" is methodological naturalism. Naturalists maintain that a
difference should be made between natural and supernatural, and science should be restricted to
natural explanations.[204] Methodological naturalism maintains that science requires strict adherence
to empirical study and independent verification.[205]

Scientific community
The scientific community is a network of interacting scientists who conducts scientific research. The
community consists of smaller groups working in scientific fields. By having peer review, through
discussion and debate within journals and conferences, scientists maintain the quality of research
methodology and objectivity when interpreting results. [206]

Scientists

Marie Curie was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes: Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911.[114]

Scientists are individuals who conduct scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of

interest.[207][208] In modern times, many professional scientists are trained in an academic setting and
upon completion, attain an academic degree, with the highest degree being a doctorate such as
a Doctor of Philosophy or PhD.[209] Many scientists pursue careers in various sectors of the
economy such as academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations.[210][211][212]
Scientists exhibit a strong curiosity about reality and a desire to apply scientific knowledge for the
benefit of health, nations, the environment, or industries. Other motivations include recognition by
their peers and prestige. In modern times, many scientists have advanced degrees[213] in an area of
science and pursue careers in various sectors of the economy such
as academia, industry, government, and nonprofit environments. [214][215]
Science has historically been a male-dominated field, with notable exceptions. Women in
science faced considerable discrimination in science, much as they did in other areas of male-
dominated societies. For example, women were frequently being passed over for job opportunities
and denied credit for their work.[216] The achievements of women in science have been attributed to
the defiance of their traditional role as laborers within the domestic sphere.[217] Lifestyle choice plays a
major role in female engagement in science; female graduate students' interest in careers in
research declines dramatically throughout graduate school, whereas that of their male colleagues
remains unchanged.[218]