The scientific method involves making hypotheses and testing them through reproducible experiments. When a set of hypotheses is proven correct, it becomes a theory, which can never be proven absolutely correct. If a theory is well-confirmed over time, it becomes a natural law. The scientific method dates back to Ibn al-Haytham and involves iterations of observations, hypotheses, predictions, and experiments. It is a fluid technique for discovering the truth.
The scientific method is a way of acquiring knowledge through experiment. It is designed to undo standard human biases in reasoning by encouraging reproducibility and cross-checking. Scientists make hypotheses, or educated guesses, about aspects of the world, then test them. These experiments need to be easily reproducible so that other scientists can cross-check the data. After extensive testing, a hypothesis can either be supported or contradicted by the data.
When a set of complementary hypotheses is proven correct, it can be integrated into a kind of “meta-hypothesis” called a theory. Theories can never be proven absolutely correct, and according to scientists, nothing can. This is where scientists are at odds with theists and spiritualists, who believe that through prayer or meditation one can access absolute truths. According to the scientific method, no theory is sacred, and even if thousands of experiments support it, it can still be proven wrong.
If a theory is extremely well confirmed over a long period of time and taken for granted by the vast majority of the scientific community, it acquires the status of a natural law or physical law. Physical laws, such as “gravity makes things fall” are as close to absolute certainty as we can get about the universe. Because theories, especially robust empirical theories, make detailed quantitative predictions about the phenomena they seek to explain, it can be quite easy to disprove them if they lack predictive power.
The scientific method is over a thousand years old, dating back to the work of Ibn al-Haytham (965-1039). Al-Haytham was a true pioneer, sometimes called “the first scientist,” who invented the scientific method and made significant contributions to over a dozen scientific fields, most notably optics.
The scientific method is not precisely defined, but most scientists agree that it involves iterations of these four steps: characterizations (observations and definitions), hypotheses, predictions, and experiments to test all previous parts of the sequence. The scientific method is not a rigid recipe, but a fluid technique for discovering the truth.
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