science is a puzzle

observing is the most basic science process. You have to notice something before you can question it. Then you begin to question the patterns and regularity or irregularity of things ... and begin looking for the words to express this relationship. These expressions are called ..... empirical.

empirical empirical empirical empirical empirical empirical

= relying on experience / observations alone; often w / o a theory to explain "why"

= based on observation or experience ( data )

= capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment

= the "numbers" -- 'work' --- they show a relationship

empirical empirical empirical empirical empirical empirical

the empirical whirlybird rule
"a person hands me a whirlybird and the left propeller blade is pointing toward me, then it will spin ..."
the empirical mirror rule
"the angle that light ( and "the string" ) makes ... "
the empirical pendulum rule
"the number of times the tick-tocks changes depends on ..."
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in our data-driven society it is easy to misinterpret the information.

is it the cause or a correlation or is it just a coincidence ?

correlation vs coincidence vs cause

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scientists look at the world in two ways

like Johnny Carson they make qualitative observations.

=== "Boy, it's cold here in Southern California." ===

like Ed McMahon they make quantitative observations.

=== "How cold is it ?" ===

astronomy and epiricism

John Kepler -- ( 1571-1630 )

made qualitative observations about planets:
"planets close to the sun orbit fast ..." "planets far from the sun orbit slowly ..."

then he looked for a quantitative relationship

how much faster ... how much slower ???

he spent 14 years trying to quantify this relationship ( oh, for the want of a hand-held calculator )

then it hit him:

Jupiter is 5.2 times the earth's distance from the sun Jupiter takes 12.0 times longer to orbit the sun. He saw a relationship between the numbers 5.2 & 12 -- but "this numerical relationship" was strictly an Empirical discovery there was no "theory" on why it should be that way.

Spend the next 14 minutes trying to find a relationship between 5.2 & 12 --- and this discovery will also be true of the numbers: 1 & 1 --- and ~ 9.5 & ~ 29.5.
Did you run out of patience after 3-4 minutes ?

enter:

Isaac Newton ( 1646-1727 )

he explained "why" KeplerŐs ideas "worked" : gravity

so Kepler's empirical laws became natural laws of science

acupuncture ... is not based on "theory"

it is strictly empirical

we know it works -- but -- do not have a "theory" why it should work. Hmmm . . .

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