Re: Nature of Science (NOS)

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

One wonders how many of the major university science courses include "THE
Scientific Method" in the course descriptions.  I suspect that the schools
that reject 2 Yr courses do not include it in the description of their own
physics courses.

I think that even using it in elementary school courses is destructive.  Of
course by HS many students have begun to realize that they were told many
lies in elementary school.  These range from the myth of the Pilgrims to
"THE Scientific Method".  In a sense the most destructive myth is the idea
that science is THE Truth and that it is difficult so that only the elect
can learn it.  The lecture system and book learned science which is pushed
in middle school and HS leave students with such a poor understanding of
science that many consider themselves as failures.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> In the end I think that almost all of us are in favor of teaching about
> 'Scientific Methods' while almost no one is in favor of (or even
> knows what
> is) 'THE Scientific Method'.  The task at hand is to get the 'powers that
> be' to understand the difference and stop demanding the latter.
>
> Rick