# kb

id: science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-0.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into two – or three – major branches: the natural sciences, which study the physical world, and the social sciences, which study individuals and societies. While referred to as the formal sciences, the study of logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science are typically regarded as separate because they rely on deductive reasoning instead of the scientific method as their main methodology. Meanwhile, applied sciences are disciplines that use scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine. The history of science spans the majority of the historical record, with the earliest identifiable predecessors to modern science dating to the Bronze Age in Egypt and Mesopotamia (c. 3000–1200 BCE). Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped the Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity and later medieval scholarship, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes; while further advances, including the introduction of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, were made during the Golden Age of India and Islamic Golden Age. The recovery and


id: science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-1.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
In classical antiquity, there is no real ancient analogue of a modern scientist. Instead, well-educated, usually upper-class, and almost universally male individuals performed various investigations into nature whenever they could afford the time. Before the invention or discovery of the concept of phusis or nature by the pre-Socratic philosophers, the same words tend to be used to describe the natural "way" in which a plant grows, and the "way" in which, for example, one tribe worships a particular god. For this reason, it is claimed that these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense and the first to clearly distinguish "nature" and "convention". The early Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, which was founded by Thales of Miletus and later continued by his successors Anaximander and Anaximenes, were the first to attempt to explain natural phenomena without relying on the supernatural. The Pythagoreans developed a complex number philosophy and contributed significantly to the development of mathematical science. The theory of atoms was developed by the Greek philosopher Leucippus and his student Democritus. Later, Epicurus would develop a full natural cosmology based on atomism, and would adopt a "canon" (ruler, standard) which established physical criteria or standards of scientific


id: science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-2.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
From a single print shop in Mainz, Germany around 1440, the movable type printing-press had spread to no less than around 270 cities in Central, Western and Eastern Europe and had already produced more than 20 million volumes by the end of the 15th century. Printing made scholarly books more widely accessible, allowing researchers to consult ancient texts freely and to compare their own observations with those of fellow scholars. Printing ended the manuscript culture of the Middle Ages, where facts were few and far between, and replaced it with a printing culture where reliable and documented facts rapidly proliferated and became the secure foundation for scientific knowledge. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus formulated a heliostatic model of the Solar System, with the Sun positioned near the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular motions, modified by epicycles, and at uniform speeds. The Copernican model challenged the dominant geocentric model of Ptolemy, which had placed Earth at the center of the Universe. 16th-century astronomers believed that Copernicus' elimination of the equant was his chief achievement but his model never displaced Ptolemy's, which only fell out of favor 70 years later


id: science-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-3.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
During the 19th century, many distinguishing characteristics of contemporary modern science began to take shape. These included the transformation of the life and physical sciences; the frequent use of precision instruments; the emergence of terms such as "biologist", "physicist", and "scientist"; an increased professionalisation of those studying nature; scientists gaining cultural authority over many dimensions of society; the industrialisation of numerous countries; the thriving of popular science writings; and the emergence of science journals. During the late 19th century, psychology emerged as a separate discipline from philosophy when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory for psychological research in 1879. During the mid-19th century Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858, which explained how different plants and animals originated and evolved. Their theory was set out in detail in Darwin's book On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. Separately, Gregor Mendel presented his paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybridisation" in 1865, which outlined the principles of biological inheritance, serving as the basis for modern genetics. Early in the 19th century John Dalton suggested the modern atomic theory, based on Democritus's original idea of indivisible particles called atoms. The laws of conservation


id: science-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-4.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Social science is the study of human behaviour and the functioning of societies. It has many disciplines that include, but are not limited to anthropology, economics, history, human geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. In the social sciences, there are many competing theoretical perspectives, many of which are extended through competing research programmes such as the functionalists, conflict theorists, and interactionists in sociology. Due to the limitations of conducting controlled experiments involving large groups of individuals or complex situations, social scientists may adopt other research methods such as the historical method, case studies, and cross-cultural studies. Moreover, if quantitative information is available, social scientists may rely on statistical approaches to better understand social relationships and processes. === Formal === Formal science is an area of study that generates knowledge using formal systems. A formal system is an abstract structure used for inferring theorems from axioms according to a set of rules. It includes mathematics, systems theory, and theoretical computer science. The formal sciences share similarities with the other two branches by relying on objective, careful, and systematic study of an area of knowledge. They are, however, different from the empirical sciences as they rely exclusively on deductive reasoning, without the


id: science-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-5.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific research involves using the scientific method, which seeks to objectively explain the events of nature in a reproducible way. Scientists usually take for granted a set of basic assumptions that are needed to justify the scientific method: there is an objective reality shared by all rational observers; this objective reality is governed by natural laws; these laws were discovered by means of systematic observation and experimentation. Mathematics is essential in the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, because it is used extensively in quantitative modelling, observing, and collecting measurements. Statistics is used to summarise and analyse data, which allows scientists to assess the reliability of experimental results. In the scientific method an explanatory thought experiment or hypothesis is put forward as an explanation using parsimony principles and is expected to seek consilience – fitting with other accepted facts related to an observation or scientific question. This tentative explanation is used to make falsifiable predictions, which are typically posted before being tested by experimentation. Disproof of a prediction is evidence of progress. Experimentation is especially important in science to help establish causal relationships to avoid the correlation fallacy, though in some sciences such as astronomy or geology, a predicted observation


id: science-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-6.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
There are different schools of thought in the philosophy of science. The most popular position is empiricism, which holds that knowledge is created by a process involving observation; scientific theories generalise observations. Empiricism generally encompasses inductivism, a position that explains how general theories can be made from the finite amount of empirical evidence available. Many versions of empiricism exist, with the predominant ones being Bayesianism and the hypothetico-deductive method. Empiricism has stood in contrast to rationalism, the position originally associated with Descartes, which holds that knowledge is created by the human intellect, not by observation. Critical rationalism is a contrasting 20th-century approach to science, first defined by Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper. Popper rejected the way that empiricism describes the connection between theory and observation. He claimed that theories are not generated by observation, but that observation is made in the light of theories, and that the only way theory A can be affected by observation is after theory A were to conflict with observation, but theory B were to survive the observation. Popper proposed replacing verifiability with falsifiability as the landmark of scientific theories, replacing induction with falsification as the empirical method. Popper further claimed that there is actually only


id: science-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-7.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Awards === Science awards are usually given to individuals or organisations that have made significant contributions to a discipline. They are often given by prestigious institutions; thus, it is considered a great honour for a scientist receiving them. Since the early Renaissance, scientists have often been awarded medals, money, and titles. The Nobel Prize, a widely regarded prestigious award, is awarded annually to those who have achieved scientific advances in the fields of medicine, physics, and chemistry. == Society == === Funding and policies === Funding of science is often through a competitive process in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most promising receive funding. Such processes, which are run by government, corporations, or foundations, allocate scarce funds. Total research funding in most developed countries is between 1.5% and 3% of GDP. In the OECD, around two-thirds of research and development in scientific and technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20% and 10%, respectively, by universities and government. The government funding proportion in certain fields is higher, and it dominates research in social science and the humanities. In less developed nations, the government provides the bulk of the funds for their basic scientific research.


id: science-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-8.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:13.302409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Attitudes towards science are often determined by political opinions and goals. Government, business and advocacy groups have been known to use legal and economic pressure to influence scientific researchers. Many factors can act as facets of the politicisation of science such as anti-intellectualism, perceived threats to religious beliefs, and fear for business interests. Politicisation of science is usually accomplished when scientific information is presented in a way that emphasises the uncertainty associated with the scientific evidence. Tactics such as shifting conversation, failing to acknowledge facts, and capitalising on doubt of scientific consensus have been used to gain more attention for views that have been undermined by scientific evidence. Examples of issues that have involved the politicisation of science include the global warming controversy, health effects of pesticides, and health effects of tobacco. === Challenges === The replication crisis is an ongoing systemic crisis that affects parts of science. The results of a fraction of scientific studies have been proven to be unreproducible. The crisis has long-standing roots; the phrase was coined in the early 2010s as part of a growing awareness of the problem. A 2026 replication study found low replication rates in social and behavioural sciences (business, economics, education,


id: outline-of-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-0.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:14.642478+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science: Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into two – or three – major branches: the natural sciences, which study the physical world, and the social sciences, which study individuals and societies. While referred to as the formal sciences, the study of logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science are typically regarded as separate because they rely on deductive reasoning instead of the scientific method as their main methodology. Meanwhile, applied sciences are disciplines that use scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine. == Study and experimentation == Experimentation is the use of controlled conditions to test an idea. A single independent variable is altered while all other conditions are kept the same to test the alteration's effect on a dependent variable. Design of experiments History of experiments Descriptive and normative science are contrasting methods to explain scientific ideas. Descriptive science explains ideas objectively while normative science explains what should be true using value judgments. Empirical research is conducted using observation and experimentation instead of theory. Empirical evidence


id: outline-of-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:14.642478+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
Alchemy is the historical study of what is now associated with chemistry. It was accepted as a science until the end of the 17th century. Astrology is a method used in ancient and medieval times to study the social sciences through physical phenomena. Cosmogony is the study of Earth's origins through divine creation. Natural history is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with biology. Natural philosophy is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with physics and astronomy. == Philosophy of science == Philosophy of science encompasses the questions, assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. Anti-realism is the opposition to scientific realism. Anti-realists believe that scientific theories cannot be objectively true or that they do not correlate to objectively real phenomena. Antiscience is a criticism and rejection of modern science and the scientific community. Denialism is the rejection of scientific facts that conflict with one's previous beliefs. Empiricism is the belief that truth is obtained from sense experience. Empiricists believe that science is a systematic and detailed application of common everyday thought and inquiry. Constructive empiricism is the belief that scientific theories can be true but successful testing does not


id: outline-of-science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-2.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:14.642478+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
Consensus is general agreement among scientists on a conclusion or finding. Demarcation is the division of scientific and non-scientific ideas, and the resulting dispute over how to divide them. Different fields of study may be evaluated on the level of experimental rigor, how much they engage in abstraction, how closely related they are with the humanities, or other qualities. Funding of science can come from governments and donors. Junk science is the presentation of uncertain scientific claims as facts, typically to a legal or political end. List of topics characterized as pseudoscience Meta-analysis is the comparing of several studies on the same topic to draw conclusions. A paradigm is the overall understanding and accepted system of how science functions. Paradigm shifts are historical periods of total change in how science is practiced. The concept was introduced by Thomas Kuhn. Peer review is a process in which an academic provides feedback on scientific writing, often anonymously, before publication. Pseudoscience is unscientific practice or belief that is presented as scientific or uses scientific language to suggest credibility. History of pseudoscience Regulation of science involves the use of policy to limit scientific activity that regulators determine to be dangerous, unethical, or ineffective. Scientific


id: outline-of-science-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-3.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:14.642478+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
== References == Agassi, Joseph (1981). Science and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Science. D. Reidel. ISBN 978-90-277-1244-8. Armstrong, Jon Scott; Green, Kesten C. (2022). The Scientific Method: A Guide to Finding Useful Knowledge. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-09642-3. Bird, Alexander (2005). Philosophy of Science. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-504-8. Browne, Janet; Porter, Roy; Bynum, William F., eds. (1981). Dictionary of the History of Science. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-29316-4. Collocott, Thomas C., ed. (1971). Dictionary of Science and Technology. W. & R. Chambers. ISBN 978-0-550-13202-4. Daintith, John; Martin, Elizabeth (2010) [1984]. Oxford Dictionary of Science (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-956146-9. Erickson, Mark (2005). Science, Culture and Society: Understanding Science in the 21st Century. Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-2974-2. Godfrey-Smith, Peter (2003). Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-30062-7. Hagstrom, Warren O. (1965). The Scientific Community. Basic Books. LCCN 65-10539. Heilbron, J. L., ed. (2003). The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511229-0. Morris, Christopher G., ed. (1992). Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-12-200400-1. Pigliucci, Massimo; Boudry, Maarten, eds. (2013). Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN


id: aic-judd-award-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIC_Judd_Award-0.md
category: reference
title: AIC Judd Award
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIC_Judd_Award
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:15.751255+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: aic-judd-award-20260505-0
summary:
The AIC - Deane B. Judd Award is an international prize, created in 1973 and instituted for the first time in 1975 by the International Colour Association (AIC). It is given to researchers or research groups in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of color science. The award is named in honor of Deane B. Judd, an American scientist who made significant contributions to colorimetry, color discrimination, color models, and color vision. The AIC has been carrying out the process of selection of the recipients for this award every two years, since 1975. The selection is an arduous procedure that includes nominations by AIC members and analysis of antecedents of the nominees by a Committee composed of previous recipients of the award and AIC past-presidents. The award is given at AIC Congresses. == Awardees == The researchers who have received this award in the past 50 years are: 1975: Dorothy Nickerson (USA); 1977: William David Wright (UK); 1979: Günter Wyszecki (Germany, USA, Canada); 1981: Manfred Richter (Germany); 1983: David L. MacAdam (USA); 1985: Leo Hurvich & Dorothea Jameson (USA); 1987: Robert William G. Hunt (UK); 1989: Tarow Indow (Japan, USA); 1991: Johannes J. Vos & Pieter L. Walraven (Netherlands);


id: eurotrac-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurotrac-0.md
category: reference
title: Eurotrac
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurotrac
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:16.896315+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: eurotrac-20260505-0
summary:
EUROTRAC (European Experiment on Transportation and Transformation of Environmentally Relevant Trace Constituents) was a joint European scientific research programme within the Eureka Framework. EUROTRAC was accepted as a Eureka project at the second Eureka Ministerial Conference held in Hannover (Germany) in November 1985. After a two-year definition phase, the work started in January 1988 and ended in 1995. At the peak of the programme, it included more than 250 research groups from 24 European countries and its budget exceeded 16 million ECU per year (equivalent to approx. 16 million Euro). == Objectives and focus areas == The objectives of Eurotrac were to: Increase the basic knowledge in atmospheric science; Promote the technological development of sensitive, specific, and fast response instruments for environmental research and monitoring; Improve the scientific basis for future political decisions on environmental management in European countries. EUROTRAC studied the impact of human activities on the troposphere over Europe, focusing on: The chemistry and transport of photo-oxidants (especially ozone) in the troposphere The processes leading to the formation of acidity in the atmosphere The uptake and release of atmospheric trace substances by the biosphere. EUROTRAC was an interdisciplinary programme involving field experiments and campaigns, laboratory studies, comprehensive model


id: ideonomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Ideonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:18.047155+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ideonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Ideonomy is a combinatorial "science of ideas" developed by American independent scholar Patrick M. Gunkel (1947–2017). Specifically, Ideonomy is concerned with the systematic organization of ideas and the discovery of the rules behind how ideas combine, diverge, and transform. Gunkel defined ideonomy as "the science of the laws of ideas and of the application of such laws to the generation of all possible ideas in connection with any subject, idea, or thing." In his 1992 book A History of Knowledge, Charles Van Doren compared ideonomy to a "mining operation" that excavates meanings and thought to discover treasures hidden deep within language. Sources from the 1980s and 1990s demonstrate that ideonomy was useful to academic researchers in fields including biology, toxicology, and nursing/patient care. Beginning in the 2010s, academics in a wide range of fields including machine learning, marketing, computational modeling, and cybersecurity have relied on materials generated for ideonomy to provide methodological support for their research. == Etymology and definition == The word "ideonomy" combines the Greek roots ideo- (from idea, meaning pattern or form) and -nomy (from nomos, meaning law or custom). The suffix -nomy suggests the laws concerning or the totality of knowledge about a given subject, as


id: ideonomy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy-1.md
category: reference
title: Ideonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:18.047155+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ideonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Edward Fredkin, former director of MIT's computer science laboratory, who praised Gunkel's "provocative ideas on artificial intelligence." Marvin Minsky, AI scientist and MIT professor, who described ideonomy as "perhaps the most extensive study of ways to generate ideas." Frederick Seitz, president emeritus of Rockefeller University, who noted Gunkel's "encyclopedic scope" Robert C. Clark, Harvard law professor, who called Gunkel "the most intelligent person I ever met" However, skeptics questioned whether ideonomy constituted a genuine science. Fredkin himself noted that Gunkel "pours out about 60 ideas a minute, and 59 of them are bad," though he added that "even with one good idea out of 60, it's still an amazing accomplishment." Douglas Lenat observed that brainstorming with Gunkel was "a bit like being hit over the head by the muse with a sledgehammer" and that "he puts people off." Gunkel himself acknowledged that ideonomy was in its infancy and might seem "absurdly utopian." His planned magnum opus on ideonomy remained incomplete, and was posted on an MIT website thanks to faculty advisor Whitman Richards. Gunkel wrote: "Pioneering in a completely new field, yes in a new science, is almost unreal. It is heartbreaking, it is pitiable, it is almost inhuman. Honestly,


id: peter-lwabi-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lwabi-0.md
category: reference
title: Peter Lwabi
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lwabi
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:19.172821+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peter-lwabi-20260505-0
summary:
Lwabi Peter Solomon is a consultant pediatric cardiologist at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. He concurrently serves as the deputy executive director of Uganda Heart Institute (UHI). He also serves as the Head of the Pediatric Cardiology Division at Makerere University School of Medicine. Peter Lwabi also sits on the Board of Directors of UHI. Lwabi is a Senior Consultant cardiac pediatrician who has trained numerous medical personnel, including nurses, medical students, postgraduate students, and cardiology fellows. He provides mentorship and clinical oversight to research and training initiatives, == Education and background == He holds bachelors of medicine and bachelors of surgery and masters of medicine, paediatrics & child health == Leadership == He worked as the president of the Uganda Heart Association. He also head of the Pediatric Cardiology Division at the Makerere University School of Medicine.A member of the Board of Directors at the Uganda Heart Institute == See also == Roy Mugerwa Aggrey Kiyingi == References == == External links == Website of Uganda Ministry of Health Archived 2024-11-25 at the Wayback Machine A bad heart condition has caused her body to swell


id: physics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-0.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist. Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines. Over much of the past two millennia, physics, chemistry, biology, and certain branches of mathematics were part of natural philosophy, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, these natural sciences branched into separate research endeavors. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms studied by other sciences and suggest new avenues of research in these and other academic disciplines, such as mathematics and philosophy. Advances in physics often enable new technologies. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism, solid-state physics, and nuclear physics led directly to the development of technologies that have transformed modern society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization; and advances in mechanics


id: physics-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-1.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
The Western Roman Empire fell to invaders and internal decay in the fifth century, resulting in a decline in intellectual pursuits in western Europe. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire (usually known as the Byzantine Empire) resisted the attacks from invaders and continued to advance various fields of learning, including physics. In the sixth century, John Philoponus challenged the dominant Aristotelian approach to science although much of his work was focused on Christian theology. In the sixth century, Isidore of Miletus created an important compilation of Archimedes' works that are copied in the Archimedes Palimpsest. Islamic scholarship inherited Aristotelian physics from the Greeks and during the Islamic Golden Age developed it further. The most notable innovations under Islamic scholarship were in the field of optics and vision, which came from the works of many scientists like Ibn Sahl, Al-Kindi, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farisi and Avicenna. In his Book of Optics (also known as Kitāb al-Manāẓir) Ibn al-Haytham presented the idea of light rays as an alternative to the ancient Greek idea about visual rays. Like Ptolemy, Ibn al-Haytham applied controlled experiments, verifying the laws of refraction and reflection with the new concept of light rays, but still lacking the concept of


id: physics-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-2.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Classical physics includes the traditional branches and topics that were recognized and well-developed before the beginning of the 20th century—classical mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Classical mechanics is concerned with bodies acted on by forces and bodies in motion and may be divided into statics (study of the forces on a body or bodies not subject to an acceleration), kinematics (study of motion without regard to its causes), and dynamics (study of motion and the forces that affect it); mechanics may also be divided into solid mechanics and fluid mechanics (known together as continuum mechanics), the latter include such branches as hydrostatics, hydrodynamics and pneumatics. Acoustics is the study of how sound is produced, controlled, transmitted and received. Important modern branches of acoustics include ultrasonics, the study of sound waves of very high frequency beyond the range of human hearing; bioacoustics, the physics of animal calls and hearing; and electroacoustics, the manipulation of audible sound waves using electronics. Optics, the study of light, is concerned not only with visible light but also with infrared and ultraviolet radiation, which exhibit all of the phenomena of visible light except visibility, e.g., reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, dispersion, and polarization of light. Heat is a


id: physics-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-3.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
=== Scope and aims === Physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particles (such as quarks, neutrinos, and electrons) to the largest superclusters of galaxies. Included in these phenomena are the most basic objects composing all other things. Therefore, physics is sometimes called the "fundamental science". Physics aims to describe the various phenomena that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena. Thus, physics aims to both connect the things observable to humans to root causes, and then connect these causes together. For example, the ancient Chinese observed that certain rocks (lodestone and magnetite) were attracted to one another by an invisible force. This effect was later called magnetism, which was first rigorously studied in the 17th century. But even before the Chinese discovered magnetism, the ancient Greeks knew of other objects such as amber, that when rubbed with fur would cause a similar invisible attraction between the two. This was also first studied rigorously in the 17th century and came to be called electricity. Thus, physics had come to understand two observations of nature in terms of some root cause (electricity and magnetism). However, further work in the 19th century revealed that these two forces were just


id: physics-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-4.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter—matter and light—matter interactions on the scale of single atoms and molecules. The three areas are grouped together because of their interrelationships, the similarity of methods used, and the commonality of their relevant energy scales. All three areas include both classical, semi-classical and quantum treatments; they can treat their subject from a microscopic view (in contrast to a macroscopic view). Atomic physics studies the electron shells of atoms. Current research focuses on activities in quantum control, cooling and trapping of atoms and ions, low-temperature collision dynamics and the effects of electron correlation on structure and dynamics. Atomic physics is influenced by the nucleus (see hyperfine splitting), but intra-nuclear phenomena such as fission and fusion are considered part of nuclear physics. Molecular physics focuses on multi-atomic structures and their internal and external interactions with matter and light. Optical physics is distinct from optics in that it tends to focus not on the control of classical light fields by macroscopic objects but on the fundamental properties of optical fields and their interactions with matter in the microscopic realm. ==== Condensed matter ==== Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals


id: physics-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-5.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:20.290778+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Ontology is a prerequisite for physics, but not for mathematics. It means physics is ultimately concerned with descriptions of the real world, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns, even beyond the real world. Thus physics statements are synthetic, while mathematical statements are analytic. Mathematics contains hypotheses, while physics contains theories. Mathematics statements have to be only logically true, while predictions of physics statements must match observed and experimental data. The distinction is clear-cut, but not always obvious. For example, mathematical physics is the application of mathematics in physics. Its methods are mathematical, but its subject is physical. The problems in this field start with a "mathematical model of a physical situation" (system) and a "mathematical description of a physical law" that will be applied to that system. Every mathematical statement used for solving has a hard-to-find physical meaning. The final mathematical solution has an easier-to-find meaning, because it is what the solver is looking for. === Fundamental vs. applied physics === Physics is a branch of fundamental science (also called basic science). Physics is also called "the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science including chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics. Similarly, chemistry


id: scienticide-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scienticide-0.md
category: reference
title: Scienticide
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scienticide
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:21.471840+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scienticide-20260505-0
summary:
Scienticide is a concept used to refer to various multifaceted processes or phenomena that lead to the harassment, reduction, or outright destruction of scientific and technological systems in some countries of the world, as well as the exile or abandonment of researchers from their places of training. These can occur for various reasons, such as wars, political repression, lack of opportunities, climate crises, foreign interventions, economic policies, or ideological persecution. == Etymology == The term metaphorically refers to the "murder of science," as it combines the word *science* with the Latin suffix - *cidium*, which comes from the root *caedĕre* ("to kill"). A comparative use of the term has been proposed alongside "femicide", as part of policies aimed at eliminating the scientific and technological systems of a country. == History == The first references to this concept using the English word "scienticide" date back to the 1990s when it was used to refer to the destruction of the network of educational, scientific, and research institutions created by the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia between 1942 and 1945. The educational system established was systematically attacked by the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, commonly known as *Chetniks*, a nationalist,


id: scientific-lacuna-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_lacuna-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientific lacuna
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_lacuna
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:22.563374+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-lacuna-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific lacuna describes an area of science that has not been studied but has the potential to be studied scientifically. Often, this may be the case because it falls between different areas of sciences, such that it doesn't fall into a single specific discipline of science. However, it also may be the case that the right situation for study has not yet occurred, or the conditions for study have been too ephemeral. Scientific lacunae often have the potential to be studied in the future when more areas of sciences are explicitly defined or the right conditions do occur, yet this can be made difficult if the area of science is commonly not considered a proper area for scientific study. == References ==


id: scientism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:23.727176+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
Scientism is the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientists", some scholars, as well as political and religious leaders, have also adopted it as a pejorative term with the meaning "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". == Overview == Francis Bacon has been viewed by some scholars as an early proponent of scientism, but this is a modern assertion as Bacon was a devout Anglican, writing in his Essays, "a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." With respect to the philosophy of science, the term scientism frequently implies a critique of the more extreme expressions of logical positivism and has been used by social scientists such as Friedrich Hayek, philosophers of science such as Karl Popper, and philosophers such as Mary Midgley, the later Hilary Putnam, and Tzvetan Todorov to describe (for example) the dogmatic endorsement


id: scientism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-1.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:23.727176+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
It is used to criticize a totalizing opinion of science as if it were capable of describing all reality and knowledge, or as if it were the only true method to acquire knowledge about reality and the nature of things; It is used, often pejoratively, to denote violations by which the theories and methods of one (scientific) discipline are applied inappropriately to another (scientific or non-scientific) discipline and its domain. An example of this second usage is to term as scientism any attempt to claim science as the only or primary source of human values (a traditional domain of ethics) or as the source of meaning and purpose (a traditional domain of religion and related worldviews). The term scientism was popularized by F. A. Hayek, who defined it in 1942 as the "slavish imitation of the method and language of Science". Mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, in his 1971 essay "The New Universal Church", characterized scientism as a religion-like ideology that advocates scientific reductionism, scientific authoritarianism, political technocracy and technological salvation, while denying the epistemological validity of feelings and experiences such as love, emotion, beauty and fulfillment. He predicted that "in coming years, the chief political dividing line will fall less and


id: scientism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-2.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:23.727176+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
== Relevance to debates about science and religion == Both religious and non-religious scholars have applied the term scientism to individuals associated with New Atheism. Theologian John Haught argued that philosopher Daniel Dennett and other New Atheists subscribe to a belief system of scientific naturalism, which includes the dogma that "only nature, including humans and our creations, is real: that God does not exist; and that science alone can give us complete and reliable knowledge of reality." Haught argued that this belief system is self-refuting since it requires its adherents to assent to beliefs that violate its own stated requirements for knowledge. Christian philosopher Peter Williams argued in 2013 that it is only by conflating science with scientism that New Atheists feel qualified to "pontificate on metaphysical issues". Daniel Dennett responded to religious criticism of his 2006 book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by saying that accusations of scientism "[are] an all-purpose, wild-card smear ... When someone puts forward a scientific theory that [religious critics] really don't like, they just try to discredit it as 'scientism'. But when it comes to facts, and explanations of facts, science is the only game in town". Non-religious scholars have also


id: scientism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-3.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T02:56:23.727176+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
Thomas M. Lessl argued that religious themes persist in what he terms scientism, the public rhetoric of science. There are two methods of describing this idea of scientism: the epistemological method (the assumption that the scientific method trumps other ways of knowing) and the ontological method (that the rational mind represents the world and both operate in knowable ways). According to Lessl, the ontological method is an attempt to "resolve the conflict between rationalism and skepticism". Lessl also argued that without scientism, there would not be a scientific culture. == Rationalization and modernity == In the introduction to his collected works on the sociology of religion, Max Weber asked why "the scientific, the artistic, the political, or the economic development [elsewhere] ... did not enter upon that path of rationalization which is peculiar to the Occident?" According to the German social theorist Jürgen Habermas, "For Weber, the intrinsic (that is, not merely contingent) relationship between modernity and what he called 'Occidental rationalism' was still self-evident." Weber described a process of rationalisation, disenchantment and the "disintegration of religious world views" that resulted in modern secular societies and capitalism. "Modernization" was introduced as a technical term only in the 1950s. It is


