The Scientific Hypothesis – Content

Essays

This site (https://scientifichypothesis.org) posts essays, book reviews and other matters concerning science education and communication, as well as the philosophy of science. The central themes are the scientific hypothesis and the scientific method. I emphasize the major contributions that the philosopher, Karl Popper, made to the practice of science. The first essays are about Popper; open-ended questioning in science; hypotheses, theories, and laws, and, finally, how to give a journal club presentation. You can access the essays via the drop-down menu on the front page.

Book reviews

I’ll also put up reviews of books that relate to the main themes. There are two kinds of reviews: long ones and short ones. Short ones are brief summaries; a paragraph or two that highlights the book’s main strengths or weaknesses. Longer reviews are substantive evaluations and critiques of an aspect of the book that deals with the hypothesis or scientific thinking. There is an example of each form under Book Reviews. There is a long essay on Sabine Hossenfelder’s book – Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, and a short one on Carlo Rovelli’s book – Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. I like these books not only because they are well-written and interesting, but because they illustrate key points about scientific thinking. I am not physicist and all book reviews will not be about physics.

Blog

There is also a blog for short items of interest and another, Ask Professor Hypothesis, for specific questions related to the hypothesis. Ideally, I or others will be able to come up with the answers. A lot of the material on this site is intended for students and science teachers, and I am hoping it can become a resource.

This is my first attempt at a blog so it will be undergoing changes as I try to figure things out. At the moment, I’m going with the standard Word Press comment system; there are alternatives, each with pros and cons. I hope you’ll post comments and will give me your feedback as to how the site works for you.

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