We have been writing about science. And yet, sometimes, it seems worth asking ourselves again, what is science. There are any number of definitions, and countless books, but broadly, a simple Oxford Languages definition captures the idea well: science is “the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.”
There seems little question that science has played a central role in helping advance our condition as a human species. Science leads directly to vaccination, the reduction of childhood illness, to genetic engineering and CRISPR-based treatment of disease. Science has facilitated automation, creating more time for recreation and self-actualization. And yet, of course, science has contributed to its fair share of challenges. Science has led to nuclear weapons, the atrocities associated with their use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the near constant threat of human extinction. Science has led to polluting technologies and accompanying global climate warming, with its attendant consequences for human living. It is with this in mind—the good and the bad—that we, in some ways, set out to write about science in this Observing Science series.
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