Science is not democratic — we do not vote on scientific theories or natural phenomena that scientists wish to explore. A possible exception might be when government ‘‘supports’’ a particular scientific effort.
Science is not based on everyone’s estimation—some persons are more knowledgeable, wiser, better educated, and better equipped to explore natural phenomena or
solutions to problems than are many other people.
Science is less personal than other disciplines—although scientists are human and thus, to some degree subjective in their judgments, they are, as a group more objective in their attitude than most people. Claiming to be an authority does not make it so.
Science is not magic—much of science may seem like ‘‘magic’’ to the nonscientist, but there is no occult influence, sleight of hand, or tricks related to the
use of the processes that make up the scientific method. Pseudoscience and ‘‘junk’’ science are identified as such and exposed.
Science is not parapsychology—this includes non sciences and the pseudosciences such as telepathy, clairvoyance, extra-sensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis , and unproven activities such as fortune-telling, tarot cards, reading bones and head bumps, witchcraft, channeling, astrology, etc.
science is not politics—although politics sometimes attempts to control science for its own purposes, science is best kept out of the political environment except in the use of science in an advisory capacity to the political operatives. on the other hand, politics is best kept out of scientific activities. This is difficult because govern-
ments of the developed world have increasingly provided funds to support scientific investigations , and many believe that control follows the money, or as the saying goes:
He who pays the piper selects the tunes. Peer review panels have been established to ensure the scientific viability of proposed research sponsored by the government.
Unfortunately, as with any system of controls there are a few flaws. Furthermore, political science is not a really a science but a study of politics. Just as economics is not a
science but rather is more of an ‘‘art’’ that uses some of the processes of science, such as statistics, to study the economics of a society.
At last ,
Science is not philosophy—historically there were philosopher/scientists and
not much distinction was made until the eighteenth century ‘‘enlightenment period’’ of history when modern concepts of science as a systematic self-correcting process were developed. No other discipline or intellectual/social activity has a natural built-in self- correcting component.