Experimentation & Innovation: The Importance of the Scientific Method

Our life without the scientific method would be unrecognizable. Most individuals don’t realize how our daily life and routine has been improved because of experimentation. Without the scientific method, we would not be so technologically advanced. We would not have all the latest cell phones, iPads, computers, and smart cars. We can assume we would not have electricity. That would mean life without lights, air-conditioning, and no appliances since most inventions start with the scientific method. Imagine all the questions about the world not being answered. Without the scientific method we would have much more illness and diseases that would lead to a higher mortality rate because the proper medications and vaccines would not be created. I will examine the impact of the scientific method in the areas of agriculture, medicine, and the environment.

The agricultural industry has been hugely impacted by the scientific method. Agriculture has numerous fields and branches that all use experimentation to make advances and breakthroughs. Farmers are always looking for ways to improve their crops and livestock. Benoît Bizimungu a scientist from New Brunswick invented a low-glycemic potato. This changes the way diabetics can eat. Crop growth is another area of agriculture that uses the scientific method studying how much light, water, temperature and nutrients is needed to make plants grow faster. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) have discovered a bacteria that will help with crop growth and reduce the use of fertilizer. Dr. Ze-Chun Yuan, a plant protection scientist said: “The bacterium works by enhancing the root size of crops, thereby increasing uptake and fixation of important soil nutrients, like nitrogen.”

The scientific method is behind some of the most important medical discoveries. One discovery that stands out to me is vaccines. Vaccines reduce the spread and problem of infectious diseases. According to The World Health Organization vaccines prevented at least 10 million deaths (between 2010 and 2015). In 1749, Edward Jenner a scientist and physician from England used the scientific method to test his hypothesis. His hypothesis was that being infected with cowpox would protect a person from smallpox infection. Dr. Jenner concluded that infecting a person with cowpox does protects against smallpox. Because of the discovery Dr. Jenner made using the scientific method smallpox has been eliminated from our planet since 1980.

The scientific method is the main method of getting information. It has been applied to environmental problems. Environmental scientists have a goal to clean up contaminated areas, reduce pollution and reduce waste. The scientific method was used by NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland campaign. Their hypothesis was that oceans are playing a big role in Greenland ice loss. They observed over a 5-year period how ice and the warming ocean related. They analyzed the data to see how much the oceans warmed up or got cooled. Nasa also analyzed how the ice changed. They were able to conclude that the Greenland glaciers are much deeper (about 1000 feet) under the ocean than expected and therefore very helpless to the warming ocean. Erika Podest an ecosystem scientist said: “All in all, the scientific method is “a way of going from observations to answers.”

One of the major criticisms of the scientific method is that some believe it has limitations. Not all hypotheses can be testable and possible. The scientific method has also been proven wrong. In 1667, Johan Joachin Becher had a theory that all objects that can catch fire contain a special element called phlogiston. (Phlogiston Theory) Johan believed that once the object was burned and the phlogiston released it would once again exist (called calx). This theory was proven wrong when metals got burned, the medals increased in weight instead of decreasing. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons chemists who published some experimental data claiming they had created cold fusion. This theory was proven wrong by other scientists. They tried the experiment themselves but were not able to reproduce the same outcome. Pons and Fleischmann were accused of lying.

In conclusion, the scientific method is an important part of science. It provides scientists a structure and procedure on how to proceed with experiments and is one of the main ways to collect data. It also keeps results objective. It has helped make advances in all areas of our lives.