What is Science?

Illustration of a compound microscope from Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, 1876


Many students have the impression that science is simply a list of facts to be memorized, probably because their classroom experience involves memorizing lists of facts from textbooks. This is an unfortunate misunderstanding. The methodology of science is just as important as the specific knowledge science reveals. As Carl Sagan observed,





The National Center for Science Education encourages all people to learn more about the nature of science. Below we have provided links to material for further reading, as well as answers to common questions.


  1. Understanding Science
    An excellent website explaining the nature of science.
  2. Robert Pennock and Michael Ruse (eds.), 2009. But Is It Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy, Updated Edition. Prometheus Books
    Buy on Amazon.com
  3. National Academy of Sciences, 2008. Science, Evolution, and Creationism. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. Available as a free pdf at www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11876.
  4. Donald Prothero, 2007. Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters. Columbia University Press.
    Buy on Amazon.com
  5. Carl Sagan, 1997. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books.
    Buy on Amazon.com

