WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SCIENCE?

What do you mean by science?

Science means - the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world, especially by observing, measuring and experimenting, and the development of theories to describe the results of these activities.


In the broadest sense, science (from the Latin scientia, 'knowledge') refers to any systematic methodology which attempts to collect accurate information about the shared reality and to model this in a way which can be used to make reliable, concrete and quantitative predictions about events, in line with hypotheses proven by experiment. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. Science as defined above is sometimes termed pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of scientific research to specific human needs.
Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines: the natural sciences, which study natural phenomena (including biological life), and the social sciences, which study human behavior and societies. A principal characteristic of these groupings is that they are empirical sciences, which means the knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and capable of being tested for its validity by other researchers working under the same conditions.
Formal science, e.g. mathematics and logic, is sometimes classified as the third group of science, having both similarities and differences with the natural and social sciences. It is similar to other disciplines in that it involves an objective, careful and systematic study of an area of knowledge; it is different because of its method of verifying its knowledge, using a priori rather than empirical methods. Formal science, especially mathematics, is vital to the sciences. Indeed, major advances in mathematics have often led to critical advances in the physical and biological sciences. The opposite has also happened. Certain mathematical approaches are indispensable for the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, both in discovering and describing how things work (natural sciences) and how people think and act (social sciences).