The word "science"
probably brings to mind many different pictures: a fat textbook, white
lab coats and microscopes, an astronomer peering through a telescope, a
naturalist in the rainforest, Einstein's equations scribbled on a
chalkboard, the launch of the space shuttle, bubbling beakers …. All of
those images reflect some aspect of science, but none of them provides a
full picture because science has so many facets:
- Science is exciting. Science is a way of discovering what's in the universe and how those things work today, how they worked in the past, and how they are likely to work in the future. Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before.
- Science is useful. The knowledge generated by science is powerful and reliable. It can be used to develop new technologies, treat diseases, and deal with many other sorts of problems.
- Science is ongoing. Science is continually refining and expanding our knowledge of the universe, and as it does, it leads to new questions for future investigation. Science will never be "finished.
