The scientific method is like a never ending road constantly growing and having numerous possibilities for growth and improvement for any idea. In many aspects, it is the foundation for science and everything that has been proven today. Throughout history, the scientific method has been used to build theories, laws, and essentially create a platform for the scientific community to contribute ideas to one another. For instance, with the mystery of The Miami Circle, the scientific method was used numerous times in order to find the truth behind the mysterious anthropological discovery. With the scientific method, anthropologists were able to trace back the history of the Miami Circle and uncover its truth.
The scientific method is a standardized procedure that is used in creating theories, laws, and ideas, in order to build a consistent, reliable and non-arbitrary depiction of the world. In the scientific method, scientists must first look at the object of interest. Then collect research on the topic to fully understand what they are going to be observing. Next, the scientist must construct a hypothesis, “a proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation” (Bradford 2015). Then, through repeated experimentation, the hypothesis can be finalized as a theory or proven to be false. In science, the scientific method is repeated numerously until a theory is created After considerable testing of the theory by possibly many different scientists, it may become what is known as a law. Theories are not just simply theories and the book does not just simply close. Theories can always be proven wrong or even extended at anytime. One of the best aspects of science has always been its openness to improvement. Theories in science are always being refigured in hopes of improvement ,or even completely changed New research frequently renders old ideas outdated ideas or incomplete ones. There aren’t really heroes in science, but more so a superhero team. Scientists are constantly building off of other people’s work expanding ideas and theories. Theories are always open ended. This is why the use of the scientific method is so important.
With the mystery of The Miami Circle, the use of the scientific method allowed anthropologists to find the purpose of the mysterious holes in the ground. The Miami circle was first discovered July of 1998. Midden was found at the site which yielded the initial building that was set to be constructed on the land. In the beginning the anthropologists hypothesized that the circle was formed by the Almac or the Maya. Through carbon dating, they realized that they were wrong about their initial hunch. There was duricrust found along the holes, which indicated that the holes were there for possible over hundreds maybe even thousands of years. Through carbon dating they found that ,”the carbon-dating tests done on two small bits of charcoal, probably created by Tekesta fires in one of the basins that form the circle, was 1,800 to 2,100 years old” (The Significance of the Tekesta Miami Circle 2002). The anthropologists then speculated that the Miami Circle is believed to have once been occupied by the Tequesta Indians. They then further confirmed this with the findings of tools used by the Tequestas during the excavation. “The holes were structural postholes or part of the foundation for a building. I believe the building was used for ceremonial purposes, as animal bones and unused tools appeared to be offerings” (Ricisak, 2001). Ricisak further proved this hypothesis by the comparisons with other past tribes structural features.
The scientific method is the basis and foundation for almost everything in science, from social science to the physical sciences. The main difference in the implication of the scientific method between social and physical sciences is that in social sciences, “fieldwork is an experiment for testing hypotheses and building theories about the diversity of human behavior and the interaction of people with systems of power— a scientific method for examining how the social world really works” (Guest 2016). While in the physical sciences, the basis mainly consists of experimental data that relies on repeated experiments and constant lab results with standard measurements. While both sciences differ, they share the same scientific model in order to have results and information.
Throughout the whole documentary and the explanation of the Miami Circle, the use of the scientific method was very prevalent. I realized that although one hypothesis is false, the pursue of the truth did not end. In a way, being unsuccessful with one hypothesis only made the anthropologists even closer to uncovering the truth. The scientific method is not just important to the sciences, but I believe that it is important in everyone’s daily lives. “The scientific method is important for people to know because it is a fundamental process in science, but the benefits of teaching individuals this process will go beyond school and classes’ (Hudson 2017). The scientific method teaches people how to think and critically analyze things in any aspect of life. It teaches us how to justify, understand, and analyze almost everything we do or see.
References Cited
Bradford, Alina. 2015. “What Is a Scientific Hypothesis? | Definition of Hypothesis.” LiveScience https://www.livescience.com/21490-what-is-a-scientific-hypothesis-definition-of-hypothesis.html. Accessed July 03, 2017.
James Omeara, Stephan 2016 The Nature of Observing. 78-79 Accessed July 05 ,2017.
Miami Circle 2015 Atlas Obscura. . http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/miami-circle. Accessed July 05, 2017.
Science & Nature Horizon – The Mystery of the Miami Circle. 2001 BBC.http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/miamicircle_transcript.shtml. Accessed July 03, 2017.
The Importance of the Scientific Method 2014 InstaScience at Elemental Blogging. http://elementalblogging.com/importance-of-scientific-method/. Accessed July 03, 2017.