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Questions for Discussion: Darwin's Letters: Collecting Evidence
Explain and discuss the reasons why Darwin was so persistent in his efforts to test plant seeds of various types for viability after soaking them in fresh and salt water for long periods of time? What evidence do these letters reveal about the way Darwin proposed and then tested hypotheses critical to his developing theory? There are many different definitions of "the scientific method" -- most of which are too cut-and-dried for general consumption to be of much real value. Consider the following statement about the scientific method, and discuss whether it seems to apply to Darwin's strategy as expressed in these letters: "The process of science making is narrative. It consists of spinning hypotheses about nature, testing them, correcting hypotheses, and getting one's head straight. En route to producing testable hypotheses, we play with ideas, try to create anomalies, try to find neat puzzle forms that we can apply ... . Our instruction in science from start to finish should be mindful of the lively process of science making, rather than being an account only of "finished science" as represented in a textbook." Bruner, Jerome. 1996. The Culture of Education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 127.
