Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I've had some discussions lately in YouTube comments where it was suggested that I am working "outside of scientific method." Really? Am I?
(I mean, I use science as a verb, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, amiright?)
Let's look and see what the actual scientific method is and how strict we need to be about that.
In other discussions, the topic has come up of "Which comes first, the hypothesis or the experiment?" We'll take a look at that too.
jump ahead:
@1:29 What is a "Featured Snippet" on Google?
@2:02 1st hit: Diagram on Britannica
@2:53 2nd hit: Flowchart on Science Buddies
@3:55 3rd hit: Wikipedia... "There are difficulties in a formulaic statement of method..."
@4:23 4th hit: Numbered list on Khan Academy
@4:51 5th hit: Stanford
@5:55 "The Scientific Method" is stuff we teach school children. It's not for real science
@7:32 Feynman vs Stanford. "...there is not any unique, easily described scientific method."
@10:05 Comparing the 3 diagram/lists... they don't match
@14:40 Do you have to start with an observation?
@16:43 The logic behind the lists and diagrams
@17:40 What does Wikipedia say? (tl;dr: it agrees with me)
@19:15 Do we do hypothesis first or experiment first?
@20:30 The Strawberry Jam example from Kritical Kwickies
@22:33 The "Eggsperiment" does not distinguish the hypothesis from "likely alternatives"
@25:07 What to do if your hypothesis doesn't match results?
@27:48 It's better to try to falsify your hypothesis rather than confirming it.
@28:44 Summary and Conclusions. (tl;dr: Science is not a ritual, and people who act like it is are not being honest with you.)
source material:
"Feynman on Scientific Method." by seabala
youtu.be/EYPapE-3FRw
"Scientific method" by Britannica
britannica.com/science/scientific-method
"Steps of the Scientific Method" by Science Buddies
sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method
"Scientific method" by Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
"The scientific method" by Khan Academy
khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-biology-foundations/hs-biology-and-the-scientific-method/a/the-science-of-biology
"Scientific Method" by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-method/
See part 2 here: youtu.be/0csjhFiQbFw
I've had some discussions lately in YouTube comments where it was suggested that I am working "outside of scientific method." Really? Am I?
(I mean, I use science as a verb, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, amiright?)
Let's look and see what the actual scientific method is and how strict we need to be about that.
In other discussions, the topic has come up of "Which comes first, the hypothesis or the experiment?" We'll take a look at that too.
jump ahead:
@1:29 What is a "Featured Snippet" on Google?
@2:02 1st hit: Diagram on Britannica
@2:53 2nd hit: Flowchart on Science Buddies
@3:55 3rd hit: Wikipedia... "There are difficulties in a formulaic statement of method..."
@4:23 4th hit: Numbered list on Khan Academy
@4:51 5th hit: Stanford
@5:55 "The Scientific Method" is stuff we teach school children. It's not for real science
@7:32 Feynman vs Stanford. "...there is not any unique, easily described scientific method."
@10:05 Comparing the 3 diagram/lists... they don't match
@14:40 Do you have to start with an observation?
@16:43 The logic behind the lists and diagrams
@17:40 What does Wikipedia say? (tl;dr: it agrees with me)
@19:15 Do we do hypothesis first or experiment first?
@20:30 The Strawberry Jam example from Kritical Kwickies
@22:33 The "Eggsperiment" does not distinguish the hypothesis from "likely alternatives"
@25:07 What to do if your hypothesis doesn't match results?
@27:48 It's better to try to falsify your hypothesis rather than confirming it.
@28:44 Summary and Conclusions. (tl;dr: Science is not a ritual, and people who act like it is are not being honest with you.)
source material:
"Feynman on Scientific Method." by seabala
youtu.be/EYPapE-3FRw
"Scientific method" by Britannica
britannica.com/science/scientific-method
"Steps of the Scientific Method" by Science Buddies
sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method
"Scientific method" by Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
"The scientific method" by Khan Academy
khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-biology-foundations/hs-biology-and-the-scientific-method/a/the-science-of-biology
"Scientific Method" by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-method/
See part 2 here: youtu.be/0csjhFiQbFw
