Sydney Taylor February 25, 2020
In Anderson’s 2008 Wired Article he describes how the data deluge is serving to make the scientific theory obsolete. Kitchen provides a rebuttal to Anderson’s argument that theory is dead with his supposition that in fact we have entered a fourth paradigm. What do you think? Do you believe theory is dead? Do you think we have indeed entered a paradigm shifting revolution for how we describe, analyze, and understand the new world?
I think that theories are essential to the scientific development, but the process of obtaining these theories is outdated. In Anderson’s Wired Article, he discusses Darwin and the finches. This experiment was the basis of our understanding of natural selection and the formation of a new species. He was among the first scientists to formulate a hypothesis, experiment and create a true analysis of natural selection. Although Darwin’s theory impacted the history of science, Anderson believes that his approach was outdated when compared to modern methods of data collection. I agree with Anderson. I think that experimentation is moving much further from the scientific theory than ever before. Scientists should not abandon the scientific method altogether, but should implement new methods of experimentation. Anderson describes this new approach as a way for scientists to “understand underlying mechanisms that connect both correlation and causation.” This explanation of scientific methods relates correlation and causation as two interconnected relationships, rather than two separate entitites.
Anderson also discusses the imporance of data interpretation. As data becomes more accessible through the internet, more people have the ability to understand science. This means that the equal accessibility of research should change the way we view the data collected. For instance, instead of searching for specific correlations and causations of various datasets, we should focus on the numbers itself. Anderson uses a specific example with an scientast named Venter. Venter used “high-speed sequences and super computers to analyze data.” He sailed throughout the oceans and collected data from the water and air. Based on the information, he found thousands of unknown bacterium and other life forms. Although Venter cannot name the specific lifeforms he discovered, the “small blips” in the statistics represent the possible new species he discovered. He did not have to create a specific theory or hypothesis. He looked at the data and simply made an observation. This new approach to scientific data collection can change the entire field forever. I believe that creating experiments and observations that don’t necessarily follow specific steps will increase global discovery and understanding.