Lecture 1

Why Scientific Thinking?

 The quality of our life and that of what we
produce, make, or build depends precisely on
the quality of our thought.

 Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and

in quality of life. Excellence in thought,
however, must be systematically cultivated.
what is Science?
Thinking
 the process of using your mind to understand matters, make
judgments, and solve problems.
 The brain’s primary building element starts with the brain cells
known as neurons.
 Chemical processes in the brain send out messages through the
neurons that determine the mental processes along with
thinking.
 Cells called glia exist between the neurons in the brain, interact
with the neurons and hormones chemically in the production
of thought.
 The motor neurons produce the action in our muscles and the
sensory neurons connect to our five senses.
what is Scientific Thinking?
Scientific thinking and Reasoning
Scientific thinking and Reasoning
The Practice of Logical Reasoning

Scientists and
critical thinkers
always use logical most individuals do not
reasoning reason logically,
because they have never
learned how to do
The Practice of Logical Reasoning
Logic is not an ability that
humans are born with It is a
skill or discipline that must
be learned within a formal
educational environment
. Emotional thinking, hopeful
thinking, and wishful thinking are
much more common than logical
thinking, because they are far
easier and more congenial to
human nature
Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning

Scientists use both

inductive and deductive
reasoning to address
scientific problems.
Inductive Reasoning
 is sometimes called the "from the bottom up“
approach. When we use inductive reasoning,
our specific observations and measurements
may begin to show us a general pattern. This
might allow us to formulate a tentative
hypothesis that can be further explored, and we
might finally end up making some general
conclusions.
inductive leap example
 This swan is white
 This anther swan is also white
 I can see a pattern here! all swans are white.
 "inductive leap": When you make the jump from
many specific observations to a general observation,
your generalization might not be correct every time.
Deductive Reasoning
is sometimes called the "from the
top down" approach. In this case,
we start with a general idea and
work down to the more specific.