Not Every Scientists Wears a Lab Coat
Alexander Von Humboldt resting after inventing nature :-) On the many ways science actually gets done You may have taken that science course and been taught science as a procedure. You ask a question, form a hypothesis, design an experiment with a control group, collect data, and draw a conclusion. It is tidy, it is logical, and it describes how science works at a specific set if steps, that are rarely actually followed in that way. And beyond even mimicking the scientific method a huge amount of science, particularly foundational science knowledge, was and is produced by people who never ran a single controlled experiment. E.W. Gudger, a zoologist of the early twentieth century, spent decades building a careful catalog of what was actually known about whale sharks. He understood that simply establishing the facts of a creature's existence and habits was itself a major scientific contribution. He was right. And he was in good company. Cataloging Before you can ask why thing...