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No, science is science. Science is structured questioning of anything, as long as you accept the data and reform your hypothesis. Sitting in a barcalounger with your thumb in your belly button, complaining about gay frogs and vaccine shedding is not science.
Pretty sure OP was not referring to those pseudo-science nut jobs.
I, for one, do not understand a lot of things and will (in good faith) question scientific principles to help better my understanding of things. I hope that does not label me as a belly-button-thumb-poker-gay-frogs-vaccine-shedding complainer.
The better phrasing is definitely “Questioning science in good faith is science”
Nutjobs and charletains often hide behind “I’m just asking questions” rhetoric, and pretend that their inquiries are equally valid to actual science.
The most famous scientists of all time are remembered for challenging, and changing, the assumptions that everyone took for granted. Questioning science is always important, as long as the questioning is sincere. So no, I wouldn’t immediately assume you were a nutjob or charletain simply for asking questions. The critical differentiator is how receptive you are to the answers.
Very well said. Thank you!
Funnily enough, math is also not science
Math is the golden thread of science.
Nor is engineering, so they get their own letters in STEM.
All models are wrong, but some are useful.
Not all questions are created equal and not all questioning of science is scientific in nature. And if you’re not writing down results and using controls, your questions aren’t really coming from a place of scientific intrigue in the first place.
Ahem, no. Science is a method to find answers with some metholody behind it. Not just any random questions and everything is the same.
(So yes, questioning science is good practice and a big part of a scientists job… Yet, you need to follow the scientific method if you do it, or you’re just making (wrong) stuff up.)
True.
But being a child saying “but why?” until your parent flips their wig isn’t.
Why not?
But why?
Since I’m old and a lot of you aren’t I’ll explain the reference.
Mindy’s defining traits seem to be her curiosity and her obliviousness. Mindy likes to chase things that interest or intrigue her, and though she usually has a single-minded focus on her target, she will sometimes stop her chase to question passersby about what they are doing– one repeated joke is that she will ask people “Why?” until they give up on the conversation; usually this takes about three "why"s, and she will end the conversation with her customary “Okay, I love ya, buh-bye!”
I had completely forgotten about Animaniacs. Now I’ve got something to look up on the telly - cheers!
I am also old and appreciate the reference
We need the opposite of the ‘fellow kids’ meme.
Pedant patrol reporting in: one type of questioning science is science
Questioning it before you understand the body of work of your predecessors isn’t science.
Especially if you turn towards the less educated to sell your pseudo-science.
It’s only science if you’re willing to accept the conclusion the observations lead you to even if they prove your idea wrong, because the point of science is to learn and gain understanding, and that is done by being wrong about things and investigating to find the correct answer.
It’s no longer science if you’re not willing to accept the conclusions because they prove your idea false, which ultimately is the problem that happens with science deniers, they are unwilling to accept being wrong.
Questioning science in that you are questioning the idea of taking observations and testing hypothesis? Then no.
Questions are of far less value than quality experiments with good documentation.
Question is one of the first steps in the scientific process.
What the fuck you gonna study/experiment on without asking a question first?
It needs to be paired with quality experiments, and when that data shows consistent results, those results should be accepted. Asking things like “is the Earth flat” or “does the Covid vaccine kill people” without accepting the wealth of data that’s already out there is of little value.
Anything at all under an authoritarian regime.
I mean not necessarily. You might just have an observation, and your just like, eh that’s kinda funny.
Figuring out how to ask a scientific question from something you’ve observed can take years.
Im listening to this podcast “History of philosophy without any gaps” and in various points in History a group of people starts arguing against philosophy, but you can’t really argue that philosophy is dangerous or useless, without seeing yourself doing philosophy for that.
That’s just true, not a real shock
Questioning the science that generated the science is science. See also: recursion.
Question reality 🫠
