Natural+Sciences

===List 5 or more ideas for each topic for a discussion for class. How different are the knowledge claims of those disciplines that are primarily historical, such as evolutionary biology, cosmology, geology and paleontology, from those that are primarily experimental, such as physics and chemistry? What kinds of explanations do scientists offer, and how do these explanations compare with those offered in other areas of knowledge? What are the differences between theories and myths as forms of explanation?===

- When some thing is defined as being historical, it generally pertains to something concerning history or past events. Something that is experimental is seeking understanding concerning a certain issue or question. Here the distinction lies. Knowledge claims concerning history have the added faculty of past evidence incorporated into their answer. Contrastingly, experimental knowledge claims which originate from fields such as chemistry or physics are based solely on future experimentation. - Scientist generally have concrete evidence to support their claims. A biologist could suggest that plants grow better when they are exposed to the sun 75 percent of the time rather than 100 percent of the time. Said scientist would then be able to show with results, that this is true. The opposite is true for other areas of knowing such as in the human sciences. An economist could make a prediction that a certain amount of product will be sold this holiday season. He would be able to show from past records that "x" amount were sold and there off of make is conclusions. The fact of the matter here is that his predictions are exactly that, "predictions" based not off of experimentation but inherent instinct and conjecture.

Carl Sagan Article Summary-
Sagan begins his article with his interpretations, or rather is feelings concerning life after death. He states that he is not opposed to the idea of some continued existence after death, but all that needs to be done is the small matter of proving it. Sagan describes how one might disprove or prove the idea of contact with the dead, by asking questions as a manner of garnering evidence which would not be common knowledge to someone who exists today but instead was general to someone who lived 30000 years ago. Knowledge claims have the responsibility of withstanding pressure and examination in any form so as to assess their validity. Independent conformation of facts is always a must as this could be seen as the best and quickest way to disprove false knowledge claims. Sagan expresses the idea that science should contain no authorities on a subject but should instead have experts who have the benefit of fact and not just purely conjecture. Multiple hypothesis are necessary for accurate results as it is more reliable to come by the same answer many different ways. Being unbiased is rudimentary to all valid science. Sagan suggests that following one idea solely because it is yours is a sure way of embarrassment. It is important to not let ones own hopes and desires for certain results sway the outcomes of a certain experiment.

What is the role of imagination and creativity in the sciences? To what extent might the formulation of a hypothesis or the invention of a research method be comparable to imagining and creating a work of art?

Many say that science is cold; it should be impartial to the observer and occurrences of the natural world exist independently of human intervention. It can be agreed upon that there are aspects of the natural sciences which can be considered natural occurrences and can therefore be studied without any manipulation by the scientist. However, the majority of discoveries concerning the natural world have come about through experimentation. There has been thought and decision by a certain individual. In this way the decision to manipulate is analogous to imagination and creativity in the sciences. Given a system of variables and a question different people will investigate said question differently. It is precisely this difference in thought process or hypothesizing that can be seen as the imagination aspect of cold, hard science. Hypothesizing requires creativity in the face of failure and independence of thought to determine the best way to gather certain information. Just as an artist would paint a portrait by planning and sketching then beginning with an outline and continuing, so would a scientist hypothesize about the experiment at hand, manner in which to experiment and potential outcomes of that certain experiment. Accordingly certain distinctions exist, the artist can erase and start over where as the scientist can never alter results but humbly redo and retry by creating different methods. Imagination and creativity play an integral role in the sciences as a unique and exploratory aspect of an otherwise cold discipline.

Please respond in a one half page of writing to the question of: 1. Which policy are we presently using as a response to climate change, and, 2. Which policy should we use to respond to climate change.

If a decision had to be made about precisely which policy is being used at this moment in time I would guess that it is a combination of both policy b and policy c. There are certain groups of our global society which fight to reconcile human circumstances with a changed future climate, but there are also parts of the society in which there is nothing taking place to fix the current predicament we are in. China as a nation is barely compensating for the pollution that they produce each year as well as failing to educated not only the children but also the masses of their nation about the change in climate which is occurring.

The ideal situation would be for policy a to be implemented immediately. This would most likely help in reducing the effects of long term climate change. Realistically though it is highly unlikely that this will happen any time soon if it does happen at all.

Basket of Things.....

Clean air, Education, Peace in Darfur, a meat burger, a good road, healthy teeth, a vacation, a pet, playstation

burger, palystation, education,.........

The rankings have most likely changed because this is what I would actually spend money on in my everyday life. The other things are all good and noble but realistically I would not likely pay for them. It is the mind set that it is someone else's problem.