Mar 13, 2022 18:00:00

What are the 'three abilities' that are important to scientists?

In recent years, many experts related to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and climate change issues have appeared on TV programs, etc., and many people should be familiar with the existence of scientists. ..

Emily Park , a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Auckland , Australia, explains the 'three abilities' that are important to such scientists.

Curious Kids: what is the most important thing a scientist needs?
https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-the-most-important-thing-a-scientist-needs-177226

◆ 1: Ability to find the right question
Most scientists are trying to understand how things in the world work, and the starting point is the question of things. For example, natural science questions such as 'Why do the stars look shimmering?' 'Why does this bird have flashy wings?' And 'How can I keep this river clean?' ' There are questions related to social issues, such as 'What can we do to stop climate change?' Park said.

There are many types of questions, but one thing that all good questions have in common is that they show scientists to do some research to find the answer. For questions that are vague and unlikely to be found, scientists do not know what to do to find the answer and cannot approach the answer in a scientific way.

'Observing how animals behave in the wild,' 'Measuring how plants grow,' 'Experimenting in the lab,' and 'Computers' are examples of scientists' research. Use it to create a simulation model of a black hole. ' To conduct research as a scientist, you need the ability to ask questions that lead to such scientific research.

◆ 2: Ability to find the right answer
After asking a question, you need to find an answer. There are various types of answers to the questions, and questions such as '

Why do you tear when you cut an onion? ' And ' Why can ants walk on the ceiling? ' Need to explain the reason and method. Can octopuses dominate the world and advance into space in the future? ”Needs not only explanation but also prediction. In addition, there are some that require a simple numerical answer, such as 'How many stars are there in the universe? '

Scientists need a lot of training and creativity to find answers to these questions. Park summarizes the basic order of research done by scientists as follows:

·Question
・ Think about the hypothesis for the question
・ Experiment to test the hypothesis
・ Report and share research results

Generally, this is a scientific research method, but there are cases where observations and simulations are included in the 'experiment' part, and there are also questions that make it impossible to make a hypothesis at the beginning, so 'this is the correct answer.' There is no such thing as a flow.

◆ 3: Ability to maintain humility
To become a scientist you need to learn a lot of things and theories, but not all the famous scientists know everything about the world. As a result, scientists have the intellectual humility to realize that they have a lot to learn and what they don't know, and sometimes they realize that they may be wrong. Park argues that we should also recognize the importance of listening.

In fact, the mechanics of the world that humans understand are updated over time, and there are

often cases where what was previously thought to be scientifically correct is later turned over. 'It's great to be curious. There's always something to learn!' Said Park.