Introduction to scientific method in everyday life:
Scientific method in everyday life:- Science plays an important part in our life. We have used science from stone age. Man
observes and understands what he observes. This is a unique sense that he is born with.
Agriculture is a scientific process. The man has learnt to sow seeds, water the land, add green manure to the soil and reap the harvest. Separating the paddy from the husk shows how clever he is. You might have observed that the women hold the
pounded paddy in a flat plate and sift when the breeze blows. The heavy paddy falls near the person’s feet while the husk that
is light flies and falls a few feet away. Thus paddy is separated from the husk. Man also has learnt from observation that the crops should be rotated to get back the lost nutrients of the soil. This is one of the scientific method we observe in everyday life.
Gardening:- Man knows how to garden by observation. He knows that the sunlight and water are necessary for the seeds to
germinate. He has learnt by experience that the soil should be rich for the plants to grow. He also has observed that the seed
must be healthy to germinate. Man also has learnt from experience that diseased seed produce diseased plants. Hence he first checks the seed to see if it is healthy. The Chinese way to check the seed is to soak the seed that is selected for planting in salt water. If the seed floats on the water, it is discarded. If the seed goes to the bottom of the vessel, then it is healthy and can be used for sowing. This is another scientific method we observe in everyday life.
More examples on scientific method in everyday life:
Nature:- Man has observed the nature from very close angles. He knows that planting trees around the house keeps the air fresh.Neem trees are usually planted outside the front of the house. It brings in cool air. The air that comes from the neem plant is also a disinfectant. It wards off diseases. If you had travelled through the villages, you might have observed that the women usecow dung mixed in water to clean the front yard of their houses.
It is scientifically proved that cow dung is a disinfectant. Even ants do not walk over the front door. The back yard usually has a tulsi plant. Tulsi plant generates clean air. Our women folk in the villages do not use phenol or any of the advertised liquid cleanser to wash their house. Salt water is used to wipe the floors. Salt water is a good disinfectant. It kills all germs. Hence the front of the house, the inside of the house and the back yard are well protected against any diseases. This is also a scientific method we use in everyday life.
Sunlight:- The sun is very hot in the months of March , April and May. Our housewives do not waste the sunlight of these months. The dried food stuffs are made in these times. Why do they select these three months? The answer is very simple.
Only on these three months the wind does not blow too hard. Hence the solar energy is used to full benefit to dry papads,cut vegetables, wet rice puddings, pickles etc. Isn’t this ascientific method that we use in everyday life?
Pots:-During the hot months, pots are used in the villages to cool the water. Today with the industrial revolution, we have
refrigerator to cool and protect our cooked food and raw food.
The aeroplane:- It was man’s observation of the flying birds that paved way for the construction and flight of the airplanes.The observation made and the hypothesis arrived at is important for the project to materialise. The observation of the rolling stones paved way for the wheels to come in man’s life and life became easy.
Today we make use of the electricity to do many work both industrial and household works. Observation of pressure’s effect on volume has helped in making the pressure cooker which cooks food faster and is efficient in fuel consumption. Washing machines, grinder, air cooler, air conditioner are all scientific discoveries that has made the living easy. Education is far widely spread due to computers. Computer is a great discovery that brings the whole world into your house. It is used for business,for research, for games for the kids to play, for getting the recipes for the house wife, for information on all aspects of life and for education.
Astrology and astronomy are the studies of the heavenly bodies and their effects on human beings.Rain is predicted by the common man on observing the climatic conditions around him. Similarly seasoned fisher men predict the storm and warn the younger fisherman against going into the sea for their daily catch.Thus Scientific methods in daily life started long long ago and continues till this day bringing in new discoveries and theories.