AoK # 2- Natural Sciences : Yixia Gu

I chose the piece ‘Octavian Nothing’, as it provided interesting points on the purpose of Natural Science. Through reading this extract, we learn that Mr. Sharpe and Dr. Trefusis are disputing the best way the boy can learn. Mr. Sharpe puts forwards the point tat natural sciences cultivate a man in rational thinking. This is devoid of any imagination or ‘absurd’ content like those in narratives or literature. These two subjects are also on two ends of the spectrum, one objective and the other more subjective. By comparing training of the child to an experiment, the reader is provided with the impression that science in general is very structured and rigid. There are no extraneous variables such as “talking about jungle animals” or “myths”- everything is either true and there of it is not. That way, the results cannot be biased or subjective. More importantly, through the phrase, only “rational faculties…constitute growth away from his hereditary savage nature.”, promotes the idea that the natural sciences is a fundamental component of society, teaching mankind to develop the skills of reasonable and proper thinking, which in turn cultivates the intellect.

To a certain degree, the natural science to me is an area that requires us to use our logic faculties. All science experiments we conduct need a clear and logical methodology; otherwise the experiment would produce “prejudiced” results, as mentioned in the extract. We also need to have controls to make sure that the only thing that is being tested is the one contributing to the result. It is true that science is to do with rigidity in testing and unbiased subjects, but some of early theories may have had some element of ‘irrationality’. Consider Galileo Galilee for example. When he first proposed the idea that the earth revolved around the sun, and it was this rotation led people to think that the sun was moving across the sky. Although Galileo’s theory was later verified and accepted into the law of physics, people at the time would have thought that he was crazy. In addition, I don’t see how science links in with grammer except for the fact that they comprise of solid rules. However, I do agree with the notion that by learning the sciences, this enables us to be equipped with abstract thinking. This skill of applying abstract concepts to new situations applys to our daily life. If we saw someone snatch their hand away quickly from a hot stove, we would know that it was a reflex, which in biology is a natural response as a result of millions of neurons passing through a reflex arc. Certain concepts in chemistry such as chemical bonding and valency shells can be applied to explaining why liquids boil and solids don’t. This type of knowledge is very practical and flexible.