Outline of science

The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science:

Science – systematic effort of acquiring knowledge—through observation and experimentation coupled with logic and reasoning to find out what can be proved or not proved—and the knowledge thus acquired. The word "science" comes from the Latin word "scientia" meaning knowledge. A practitioner of science is called a "scientist". Modern science respects objective logical reasoning, and follows a set of core procedures or rules in order to determine the nature and underlying natural laws of the universe and everything in it. Some scientists do not know of the rules themselves, but follow them through research policies. These procedures are known as the scientific method.

Essence of science

Scientific method

Scientific method – body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based on observable, empirical, measurable evidence, and subject to laws of reasoning, both deductive and inductive.

Branches of science

Branches of science – divisions within science with respect to the entity or system concerned, which typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature.

Natural science

Natural science – major branch of science, that tries to explain and predict nature's phenomena, based on empirical evidence. In natural science, hypotheses must be verified scientifically to be regarded as scientific theory. Validity, accuracy, and social mechanisms ensuring quality control, such as peer review and repeatability of findings, are amongst the criteria and methods used for this purpose. Natural science can be broken into 2 main branches: biology, and physical science. Each of these branches, and all of their sub-branches, are referred to as natural sciences.

Formal science

Formal science – branches of knowledge that are concerned with formal systems, such as: logic, mathematics, theoretical computer science, information theory, Game theory, systems theory, decision theory, statistics, and some aspects of linguistics. Unlike other sciences, the formal sciences are not concerned with the validity of theories based on observations in the real world, but instead with the properties of formal systems based on definitions and rules.

Social science

Social science study of the social world constructed between humans. The social sciences usually limit themselves to an anthropomorphically centric view of these interactions with minimal emphasis on the inadvertent impact of social human behavior on the external environment (physical, biological, ecological, etc.). 'Social' is the concept of exchange/influence of ideas, thoughts, and relationship interactions (resulting in harmony, peace, self enrichment, favoritism, maliciousness, justice seeking, etc.) between humans. The scientific method is utilized in many social sciences, albeit adapted to the needs of the social construct being studied.

Applied science

Applied science branch of science that applies existing scientific knowledge to develop more practical applications, including inventions and other technological advancements.

How scientific fields differ

Politics of science

History of science

By period

By date

By field

By region

History of science in present states, by continent

See – Category:Science and technology by continent

History of science in historic states

Philosophy of science

Scientific community

Scientific organizations

Scientists

Types of scientist

By field

The scientific fields mentioned below are generally described by the science they study.

By employment status

Famous scientists

Main list: Lists of scientists

Science education

Science education

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.