We are now turning to science as a way of knowing.
One of the most extraordinary people of the 20th century was Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist who left an lasting impact on science. His impact was in part due to his discoveries, and in part due to his amazing ability to teach science. Unconventional and creative, he engaged people in viewing the world in a manner at once poetic and scientific, balancing rigorous thought and enormous awe.
In class we began watching a video on Feynman. Please finish watching the video outside of class and record a reflection here. What does Feynman say about science as a way of knowing?
Richard Feynman argues about science as a way of knowing. In the video the key points are clearly illustrated. The first on is that a you see more than what appears to others. Being a scientist includes a lot of detailed observation but it is said that they see more because they interpret objects they see in terms of molecules and structures. Also we can sort out perception using science and connecting what we see with what we know and learn about. Although this method might explain different perceptions of one thing we suppose and are quite sure that everything we know is true. We can assume what is possible but the only things that are really true are the ones which are proved through an experiment. As heard in the video “if something disagrees with experiment its wrong” although there is no correct way of representing things. Another thing the video states is that there is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something and if you don’t know something the best way to learn it, prove it and understand it or figure it out is by thinking of experiments to perform. Feynman believes that science has to be explored under different perspectives in order to find out new things and also that physics is more an experience which involves emotion rather than a simple reason “issue”.
ReplyDeleteFeynman is a very curious person because he views life differently from many people. Feynman believes that it’s scientific only to say what is more likely and what is less likely, and not proving all the time the possible and impossible. In fact according to Feynman “scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty- some most unsure, some nearly sure, but none absolutely certain.” He believes that to know something the person must first understand the language and mechanism of the subject and after fully identify himself with the subject. For example a person may now the name of the bird but that doesn’t mean they know the bird in fact there is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. Feynaman also believes that science can be approached by many different perspectives and curiosity arises from a knowledge issue. An artist can look at a flower differently from a scientist but those different perspectives arise curiosity and can only add to an interesting knowledge issue.
ReplyDeleteRichard Feynman wasn't someone who saw life the way we do. He would think about various concepts in depth and apply physics to a lot of his ideas. Looking at the ripples in water that were made by someone who jumped in, Feynman realized that one could come to the conclusion as to where the person jumped in and how long ago it was. All of this just by looking at the surface of the water and using reason. He also claimed that it was “senseless to build something because it would all be destroyed anyway”, this reflects the way of knowing in that different people think about the same thing in a different way. The government, who decides to build the bridge, would see it as a development in the city, something that is useful for the population. Feynman doesn’t see it this way. At one point in the video he compares himself to an ape with two sticks and a banana, and how he hardly ever gets a hold of the banana. This left me thinking about how each individual works to arrive at a certain point or level in life. We have all done something, that left us standing where we are now; with the knowledge that we have obtained over the years. Even though there isn’t a right or wrong way of doing things, all of us have been both right and wrong in our own personal ways. Feynman says that science, physics, is something that needs to be experimented, through language and physical means, by the individual in order for that person to know what it is. There are many different ways to look at things and this depends on what person you are.
ReplyDeleteListening to Richard Feynman can really open a new world to people. He was indeed one of the most extraordinary humans of the 20th century. Feynman had a really interesting view about science as a way of knowing. He was a very skeptical man, becuase he would not believe in anything one told if he could not prove it. His approach to science as a source of knowledge was in fact based on guessing, computing the consequence of the guessing, and comparing the final experiment. He is indeed absolutely right. I personally think people should never abandon themselves to theories without having had the chance to prove them. Each human being should think with one's own mind, and ignore what others think. Experimenting is the key word to life. All science is in fact based on experimentation: trying to prove something to be right or wrong, trying to find an answer. All experiences and experiments in life widen our view of knowledge. How Feynman spoke "knowing the name of something is different from knowing something", in fact, if you experiment and analyze, and drive conclusions you are most likely able to know something beyond its name.
ReplyDeleteScience is a key way of knowing without whom man would not be able to live.
Science is a powerful "way of knowing" based on experimentation and observations of the natural world. We depend on science for unbiased and verifiable information to make important decisions about our lives. Although there are other ways of knowing that may be important in our personal and cultural lives, they rely on opinion, belief, and other factors rather than on evidence and testing. The scientific method utilizes a series of facts, hypotheses, laws, and theories to explain observations in the natural world. Everyday use of these terms is different than in the scientific context, leading to unintentional and intentional confusion. As Feynman stated "Each piece, or part, of the whole nature is always an approximation to the complete truth, or the complete truth so far as we know it. In fact, everything we know is only some kind of approximation, because we know that we do not know all the laws as yet. Therefore, things must be learned only to be unlearned again or, more likely, to be corrected.......The test of all knowledge is experiment."
ReplyDeleteRichard Feynman was a Nobel Prize winner famous for his unusual life style and for his popular books and lectures on mathematics and physics.
ReplyDeleteIn his video he reasons about science seen as a way of knowing. Because he was not easily convinced, he would often tend not to accept as true ideas, or facts that couldn’t be proved. Only through observation a scientist may be able to construe objects beyond what is known as molecules and structures. By experimenting, a definite, authentic confirmation is given of what has been stated. One should never limit themself to one possible answer without being certain of its validity. Feynman believes that in order for someone to know what he\she is dealing with in science, it has to be studied and evaluated through the use of language and physical means. There is never one answer to our questions, or our knowledge. According to Feynman to prove something, learn more from it and apprehend its structure something has to be experimented. Science, especially physics, may be reached by many divergent perspectives, by finding out new things through the practical knowledge, concerned with reactions and feeling.
Richard Feynman was a physicist who saw life in a very different manner from the norm. This is evident in the video. He was able to explain concepts by observation, which is a very important topic in physics. His son explains in the video that as a child he always use to ask questions, and enjoy his fathers explanation to it. He recalls one day when he ran to his father to ask him why, when placing a ball in a wheelbarrow and pulling the wheelbarrow the ball moves to the back. Richard Feynman explained the concept and said that the ball does not move to the back but it stays where it was in air, it is the wheelbarrow that moves foreword and then he told his son to go and try it again. This presents one of Feynman’s most important concepts about how observation is at the centre of a science. This connects to the ways of knowing because it shows how to question one has to see something and to understand the answer one has to apply logical/scientific reasoning. To find out the true answer to a question, science has to be used to apply tests and experiment to eliminate all the possible random errors caused by chance. Many things can be approached in a different manner and science is one of these, ones knowledge on the matter and way of thinking can change the outcome of the questioning. An example of how different ways of observing a concept can be seen at a common place such as a normal day at the pool. A human notices all the people jumping and see who jumps first, what about the insect in the corner? It might be able to detect who jumped first by interpreting the frequency of the waves that are coming towards it. These examples show how science is at the basis of knowledge because you can apply it to real life situations.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Richard Feynman was such an extraordinary person was because he emphasized the need for imagination and spontaneity in the area of science. The way he lectured and imagined things, and the way he used drawings to help physics students understand something that was apparently impossible to depict visually, made him a sympathetic teacher and visionary instructor. Mr. Feynman also made sure he had a "child-like" curiosity and enthusiasm about him so he could ask more questions and appreciate things more. By placing himself on square one, he was able to get the bigger picture, and also marvel at the wonder of science. Though he was one of the most brilliant minds in science, he was curious about small things, like spaghetti and why when cracked it split into three pieces.
ReplyDeleteThough Mr. Feynamn was a physicist, he also integrated other areas of knowledge such as art into his life. He and his artist friends exchanged ideas, and each taught the other a bit about their respective area. Mr. Feynman could calculate difficult physics problems, but he also made sure he knew how to shade a picture. Though he was very scientifically minded and did not always simply follow his impulse, he had great enthusiasm and observed as much as he could. He had a thirst for knowledge, and pursued as much of it as he could. He was the life-long learner.
Out of everything in the video, though, it is probably Mr. Feynman's rejection of accolades that surprised the viewer the most. Yes, he graciously accepted them, and the Nobel Prize is a huge, prestigious honor, but they were not what drove him to be a scientist. He knew that when all the awards were taken away, all that could be seen were the amazing discoveries he had made. This is a great sign of character. For all his accomplishments in the area of physics, Feynman was also accomplished in character. He was not driven by the prospect of wealth or fame, but by his own curiosity for how things worked and why things are the way they are. He was also enthusiastic and loyal. Richard Feynman was an accomplished man in multiple areas of knowledge, and though he encouraged the specialness of each one, he emphasized incorporating them into one another.
Richard Feynman attempts to explain to a non-scientist, just how difficult it can be to answer certain questions in simple understandable terms. A classic example of Feynman's clarity of thought, powers of explanation and intellectual honesty is displayed in the Youtube video we were provided to see in our T.O.K. lesson last week.
ReplyDeleteHe would bring forth his own sense of imagination and concepts to how he views certain creations, or situations. He organizes knowledge in multiple explanations and predictions. Not only did he express his professional way of examining and understanding theories, but he also had a child-like way of thought, whereby he wanted to learn more ideas and engage in new phenomenons. He explained to the viewer, a story that when he was a child, him and his father were outside in their garden and they were discussing why the ball, does what it does if the wagon moves a specific way. He wanted to learn more, we (as the viewers) may assume that the secret to his success may be his own curiosity, the "wanting"or the willingness to learn more. He was able to understand complex theories easier than anyone else possibly could. He was also able to understand them and then be able to explain them in his own words.
"He was interested in views of life, that were different than his own - as long as they were informative to him" a friend of Richard's claims.
"We're always by the way, in a fundamental physics, always trying to investigate those things in which we don't understand the conclusions - we're not trying to check all the time on our conclusions. After we check them enough, we're okay, the thing that doesn't fit, is the thing that's the most interesting. The part that doesn't go according to what you expected." This quote taken by the Youtube video are Richard Feynman's exact words which reveal Feynman's opinion or conceptualization of his view on things. He is fascinated by situations or conclusions that have been possibly proven wrong or impossible to recreate. Those are the situations he prefers the most, he appears to enjoy a great challenge. He "feeds off of challenges."
He states how big and complex theories, can just be seen as simpler things - simple components that appear to be integral parts of a big and complex idea or theory.
To conclude, Richard Feynman was a very successful man and did not flaunt his accomplishments, and he appeared to show numerous areas of knowledge in the field of physics, and everyone could see that he really was enjoying what he knew how to do best.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was one of the important physicists of the 20th century. He was also known as a "curious character," meaning both that he was curious about things and that he was "curious" in the sense of being a curiosity. He’s known for his work on the atomic bomb, for creating a visual representation of subatomic particles, and pioneering work in quantum computing.
ReplyDeleteThe interview we watched in class on Feynman touches on a wide array of topics from the beauty of nature to particle physics. He explains things that are hard to grasp in layman’s terms much like Carl Sagan did in the cosmos series. His explanation of the scientific method covers what we know, why we know it and most importantly, what we don’t know and the pleasure of figuring it out. If you carefully see his questions are actually T.O.K. questions. Most part of his vedio makes one expand his or her idea onm anything regurding the world. The documentary very interesting and the thing liked of Feynman was that he had a very different and original way of expressing technicalities and makes it fairly easy to understand.
One thing which I really liked was that he said that Scientific Curiosity Can be Applied to Other Areas. Feynman liked to challenge himself in areas besides math and science as well. He learned to play Latin drums well enough to perform with a ballet company. Although he didn’t consider himself artistic, he learned how to draw well enough to sell several works.
Richard Feynman is an extroardinary man of science, more specifically physics. He is a man who sees things differently than anyone else, a man who has childlike curiosity and who is able to make everything interesting to others. He believes many different things, the first is that scientists perceive things differently than other people. While the public looks at things with a broad view, looking at the whole, a scentist can imagine the particles, the waves and all those things that a normal person even knowing that they exist would not pay attention to. Feynman believes that not everything that we know is true, because although we believe it to be true, we can never know absolutely if we are right. In fact, not everyhting that we take as true has to be such. He states that the only things that are valid are those that others can experiment on and state as true as well. RIchard Feynman also discusses the fact that there is a difference between knowing the name somethings has and what that something actually is. This brings to the question of science as a way of knowing. Science should bring people towards curiosity, towards opening their minds to something that is bigger than what they simply see. In fact, it is through science and experimentation that people discover things, since their curiosity motivates them towards learning and discovering something new.
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