We know what science is. Science is the understanding of relationships and classifying them. A ball of gas burning in the sky has been classified as a star. When one mixes copper plastic, silicone, and many other things we get a relationship which we have classified as a television, and when we watch a television, we are having a relationship with that television. A relationship with a certain pattern has been called a mountain, and those that live on the mountain are having a relationship with that mountain that involves more energy than one who merely looks at the mountain. But the one looking at the mountain is also in a relationship with that mountain though less energy intensive, but still in a relationship. An animal with a vagina has been classified as a female as differentiated from a male.
Many disciplines can thus roughly be considered science depending on how much they analyze and classify relationships. But is using the scientific process enough to for something to be considered a science as a whole. Science is ultimately about understanding the costs of a relationship, though at its beginnings it is about understanding the relationship itself. If one smokes to much the cost of the relationship is less use of one’s lungs.
But again one can argue that archaeology is both an art and a science. But for now, to understand things in a deeper manner, archaeologists need to date things, we have the instruments, coming back to reality all information can be used to tell the time, look hard enough the clues of time are all around. But archaeology also gives us patterns about civilizations of the past using archaeological techniques, linguistics. Done properly science is apolitical, it looks at things and patterns and gives evidence for those things, patterns and relationships.
So, science is about understanding relationships and classifying them, when information has such and such a relationship a human being is the result but depending on the relationships the result can be a stone, a star, a wolverine, water. Let us talk natural sciences.
In natural sciences we can get a direct result that has a relationship that is 100% certain. When one talks of a relationship that is 100% certain it means every time a similar pattern appears, if a similar pattern does not appear with 100% certainty, it is not that thing, similar but not that thing. Give human beings $1 000 it will be spent in many ways according to the taste of that individual information package classified as a human being. But if you make an alloy with 1000 grams of manganese and 2000 grams of iron, you will always get certain properties. That is the difference between natural sciences and social sciences
Understanding with 100% certainty what will happen because the relationships are strictly about proportions, these proportions we know because we have tested them, and they can be tested with 100% certainty.
Given that everything is in a relationship, and everything is made up by relationships, though science itself is about understanding and categorizing these relationships, it categorizes these relationships by understanding the patterns. Natural science always looks at certain patterns, these patterns have such a data that is a perfect fit to a statistical distribution pattern with the physical sciences. If something does not fit even slightly with expected pattern, then it is something else or a contradiction.
Biology deals with life, thus there is no perfect fit as such at the more complex level but there are identifiable distribution patterns, how certain germs grow will have a certain distribution pattern, if that general pattern is not met, then it is a different germ rather than the one we expected. A normal distribution explains much of nature, but not all.
In all natural sciences the process requires an investigative process. The definition, the categorization or classification of a relationship must be certain. The categorization comes after one understands the relationships of whatever it is they are looking into.
To understand trajectory, we can not start with the mathematics and a formula. First humans had to understand what is going on, the relationships involved, and then they found a way to quantify these relationships and now with great accuracy. Only after understanding these relationships can we begin using mathematics for predictions. We now know with great accuracy if we apply so much force, and we can calculate the force, given certain atmospheric conditions a projectile will land at position X. Mathematics is just a way of expressing those relationships, the commonality of all things when such and such happens to them.
If we look at this concept of mathematics, when we take the whole thing back to what is common to all information, the smallest packages of information we get basic particles. Now let us to make things easy say there are 3 basic particles, 1, 2, and 3. And let us say these three are the basic building blocks of everything. We want to look at the power of mathematics and where it comes from, so it is best to simplify things, 3 basic particles.
When particle 1 has a relationship with another particle 1 we get certain properties of the resultant relationship. When particle 1 has a relationship with particle 2 we get certain properties, these properties will be different from the properties, and thus particle that is no longer a basic particle, but this particle will have different energy definitions than relationship 1, 1. A different kind of loss of freedom.
The relationship particle 1 has with particle 3 will result in different energy costs, different losses of freedom. This relationship between 1 and 3 is different and unique. Hopefully one gets the jist, particle 3 having a relationship with particle three results in a different relation than a relationship between 3 and 2, or between 1 and 2, or 3 and 3, different relationships defined by different costs in energy.
The energy allowing these relationships we call free energy, energy over and above necessary for keeping the particle as a particle. This energy is what allows for relationships.
When particle 1 has a relationship with another particle the laws of existence, programmed into existence say if relationship is with another particle one we get such properties, if it is with a particle 2 or 3, we get such and such properties and the cost of the relationship in terms of energy is so much energy. It is determined by an algorithm, if this then that.
We truly must thank the region that is now Uzbekistan but was part of the conquered lands of the Persian Empire when they gave birth to Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, the one who gifted us with algorithms, the word algorithm comes from his name. It is latinized for al-khwarizmi.
When particle 1 has a relationship with another particle we then can calculate the cost of this relationship and put a mathematical formula. This algorithm continues down throughout the bulk, densities of complexities of information. Until we get life and intelligent life, the algorithm still applies. We break up this algorithm into system that we can understand, like trajectory, if we apply such a force to a material of such and such density, volume, size, we shall get such and such a trajectory. All part of the algorithm, but we have defined the if this then that to basic questions as how much force we get this and that.
It even applies to us as human beings, did he or she go to the supermarket or did they go to the corner store. Different relationships are a result of those differences, we shall use different velocities to get to the supermarket rather than the corner store, one could go East to the supermarket or south to the corner store, that alone shows different relationships. Though we are the decision makers in many of our actions, this algorithm applies as much to throwing a ball as to if one gets infected by something, to one going to the corner store.
Mathematics helps us to understand the result of different relationships, apply 6 pounds of force is different from apply 6.25 pounds of force. If one applies six pounds of force relationships are different from applying 6.1 pounds of force. Mathematics allows us to generalize the if this then if that with a formula, but we must first experiment to get to the first step.
Natural science has the idea of predictability that is accurate. If I heat a certain virus in a test tube to a certain temperature it will die. If we pass hydrogen chloride gas through water, we get hydrochloric acid, we will not get anything else. Thus, one can say the relationship between hydrogen chloride and water will always lead to hydrochloric acid. To understand fully hydrochloric acid, we need to know the relationships that lead up to hydrochloric acid.
Though talking of natural sciences, this is important in natural sciences, to understand a human being, we must understand the relationships that have made them who they are up to that point.
Natural sciences deal with a high degree of certainty in predicted relationships. It does not deal with this will most likely happen, especially the physical sciences. We have things like automobiles, televisions, anti biotics, tetanus shots, insulin, robots, flexible jeans, space stations, electricity because of the high degree of certainty given the natural sciences.
What then is biology? Biology is the study of life. By studying life, it seeks to understand the relationships that create and sustain life. Well, there was a time we did not understand for example the relationship between vitamins and a healthy human being. We did not understand cell structures and how cells metabolize food so that we can have energy. We did not understand the role of white and red blood cells, we understand this all because of biology.
We understand why cell structures of plants and animals are different, they fulfill similar but different relationships. We understand the process of photosynthesis. This is because of the breakdown of relationships in life such that we can understand all these things.
We understand that fungi communicate, I mean, this is all from understanding the relationships around life. We have cures for many things that ail us because of the advancement of medicine and how the body works.
We know about genes and their relationship to the function of life; all life has genes and to one extent or another some genes are common to all life.
What is chemistry? Chemistry is the study of the material world. By studying the material, what has often been called matter, we are looking at the universe and its properties from the atom up, from the elements up and the relationship of these elements and the relationships involved with matter. When we mix two parts of hydrogen with one-part oxygen we get water.
We look at the elements and the resultant molecules and relationships from combining these elements. At the end of it all, all the complexities we see in the universe is studied by chemists. The beginnings for one to be competent in chemistry is to understand the periodic table and the properties of each elements, the basic atomic structure of all the different materials, the different matter. We have hydrocarbons, proteins, alloys, this is all the way of the chemist, understanding these relationships is the way of the chemist.
Thank the chemist for the plastic age, it is not all bad, it is part of the casings for our computers, televisions, radios, as well as plastics we didn’t know would end up choking sea turtles and end up in fish that we consume.
The fuels we have, the full exploitation of crude oil, this was the job of the chemist.
Chemistry is about understanding the relationships of the material, and there are so many of them big wide and deep field and always getting deeper is we look for better and stronger materials.
What is physics? Physics is the study of motions of matter, its fundamental building blocks. When studying physics we are trying to understand the relationships around all matter in any system. Understanding the relationship gravity has with matter we know trajectory for example will be different on earth than it is on earths moon, or Jupiter, or Saturn, or Uranus, this is because of relationships with gravity, they affect motion.
What is relativity, well one hour with whom one loves seems too short and 20 seconds on a hot flame seems like forever, paraphrasing Einstein. Relativity is just about certain types of relationships and energy costs, nothing falls outside the first law of everything, everything is in a relationship and all relationships lead to a lose of freedom due to the costs in energy.
Let us look at relativity. Let us just first take the bending of light, that is because light has a relationship with something that it bends, it must bend and this bending is due to energy exchanges, its part of the cost of the relationship that it must behave in such a certain manner, remember the algorithm that is basis of all relationships if this then that, the big algorithm itself is named the algorithm of information. But taking a section of the big algorithm we can understand relativity and put mathematics to it.
The closer we move to the speed of light; time passes more slowly. Again, this is just about relationships, the algorithm says the faster one moves, the less aging, how fast one is moving determines that relationship and we have put mathematics to it. But again, this all has to do with motion, just understanding motion at greater and greater depths.
Physics also looks at the relationships around the behaviour of basic building blacks of nature, discrete particles. We know that when we look without measuring, they behave as a wave, and when we try to measure, they behave as particles. We know the concept of locality is broadened because of the relationship basic particles can take with each other. This relationship is entanglement. We can know the polarity of the entangled particle even if it was 30 billion light years away.
It is about relationships, science is about the categorization of relationships and understanding the energies involved in those relationships.
Bhekuzulu Khumalo
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