Quote:If you do not follow this process, then you're not doing science?
Arcanus,
Correct, well mostly correct, I would say that if you do not follow those steps than you are not doing science. There are some minor exceptions.
The part about changing only one variable doesn't always hold true and there are meta studies that do not involve doing any testing but amount to just compiling previous results but those steps are pretty much how science gets done. The reason I feel that the single variable step is a bit restrictive is because of my experiences at Intel. I work in a lab and we study the physical properties of things relating to Printed Board Assemblies (PBA's) and quite often will perform tests that modify several variables at one time along many different "legs" each leg having samples that are treated the same i.e. shocked the same way or vibrated for the same amount of time. This falls in line with one of Intel's core values, "Risk Taking" which allows our engineers to use intuition to try to arrive at results quicker. We are only working with PBA's though so if we fuck up and do somthing wrong it would not have any serious effects other than missing a shipping deadline. Also, since we are competitive organization we do not communicate our data outside of Intel.
Rhizo
