Excerpt from a comment published by Jack A Gilbert in Genome Biology 2014:
“I am a professional scientist. What does that mean? I think it is safe to say it means that, to the best of my ability, I apply the scientist method to test hypotheses and gain a clearer understanding of the world around me. However, I am also a human being, and so when I am asked, as I often am, about how my research findings have influenced my day-to-day activities, I like to take a step back and think about what it means to be a scientist. Science is a method for questioning, observing and interpreting; it helps to focus enquiry, refine models and generate evidence to test hypotheses. We generate a hypothesis, for example, ‘I have enough gas (petrol) to get to work this morning’, as a statement of ‘fact’ that needs to be tested. To define the potential outcomes of the hypothesis a model is generated, which helps us to predict if the hypothesis is true or false. In this case, our measured variables would be the gas gauge, the known distance to work, the time of day and whether there will be traffic, the potential for road works that could cause diversions, and whether you need to stop on the way to work for coffee or to drop off dry cleaning. By taking into consideration all these variables you are able to make an informed prediction as to whether your hypothesis will be validated or falsified. I can also account for highly improbable events by rationalizing that ‘even
if something does happen, I am aware of the locations of gas stations on each major route to and from work’ (or my GPS will tell me). Obviously, the proof is in has generated a prediction based on probabilities, and to determine whether your prediction is right today, you have only got to go out there and do the actual experiment and observe its outcome.”