Defense of the Scientific Hypothesis

Abstract

Abstract This book explains and defends the scientific hypothesis. Explanation is needed to counteract the misinformation and misunderstanding about the hypothesis that even scientists have concerning its nature and place in the tapestry of modern science. A survey revealed that most biological scientists receive little or no formal training in scientific thinking. Defense is needed because the hypothesis is under attack by critics who claim it is irrelevant to science. Defense is important, too, because the hypothesis is perhaps the major element in scientific thinking, and familiarity with it is necessary for an understanding of modern science and scientific thinking. The public needs to understand the hypothesis in order to appreciate and evaluate scientific controversies (e.g., global climate change, vaccine safety, etc.). The first chapters thoroughly describe and analyze in elementary terms the scientific hypothesis and examine various kinds of science. Following chapters that review the hypothesis in the context of the Reproducibility Crisis and present survey data, two chapters assess cognitive matters that affect the hypothesis. In a series of chapters, the book makes practical and policy recommendations for teaching and learning about the hypothesis. The final chapter considers two possible futures for the hypothesis in science as the Big Data revolution looms: in one scenario, the hypothesis is displaced by the Big Data Mindset that forgoes understanding in favor of correlation and prediction. In the other, robotic science incorporates the hypothesis into mechanized laboratories guided by artificial intelligence. An epilogue envisions a third way—the Centaur Scientist, a symbiotic relationship of human scientists and computers.