In 2008, the National Academy of Sciences put forth a textbook-ish definition of "science": "The use of evidence to construct testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the ...

The common use of "tentative" is generally regarded as a negative adjective, roughly synonymous with indecisive. In contrast, it's widely considered to be a strength of science. A major legal decision ...

How did science get started? A few years back, we looked at one answer to that question in the form of a book called The Invention of Science. In it, British historian David Wootton places the origin ...

Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this book, to buy it in print, or to download it as a free PDF. Science is a way of knowing about the world. At once a process, a product, and an ...