slides
Traditional scientific method
something like:
- observe and study a phenomenon
- formulate an hypothesis
- predicts what will happen
- can be falsified (i.e. claim can be disproven)
- perform experiments that test the hypothesis
- analyze the results
- revise the hypothesis
- if you were wrong - change the hypothesis
- if you were mostly right - generalize to other situations
- test again and continue repeating
One of the major strengths of this method is that it promotes trust
everything is independently verifiable
- assumptions and hypotheses are clearly stated
- methods are described
- other people can and do review your hypothesis, methods and conclusions
Application to environmental problems
many people working on versions of the problem in many different situations
- identify the component processes of a problem
- example of indoor wood fire cooking would include:
- fuel availability
- deforestation from fuel collection
- indoor pollution
- benefits of smoke (deter insects)
- flavor of cooking on fire
- replacement options (kerosene, solar, etc)
- efficiency of wood combustion
- social aspects of homelife
- hypothesize whether the sum of these impacts are good or bad
- hypothesize a change that could improve the impact
- set up tests
- reliable data collection
- many different situations, environments, social contexts
- share and compare data and conclusions
- analyze, refine, retest
Add in the non-measurable or cross-scale impacts that can't be addressed with single experimental trials
- social
- health improvement
- precursor technology to some other necessary improvement
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