Observation
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2008-07-16T10:50:22Z
122.2.203.243
/* Observation as recording of scientific data */
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'''Observation''' is either an activity of a living being (such as a [[human]]), which senses and assimilates the [[knowledge]] of a [[phenomenon]], or the recording of data using instruments. The term may also refer to any [[datum]] collected during this activity.
==Observation as recording of scientific data==
Observations are statements which are determined by using the [[Sense|senses]].
Observations aroused by self-defining instruments are often unreliable[[Observer effect|¹]]. Such observations are hard to reproduce because they may vary even with respect to the same stimuli. Therefore they are not of much use in exact sciences like [[physics]] which require instruments which do not define themselves. It is therefore often necessary to use various engineered instruments such as [[spectrometer]]s, [[oscilloscope]]s, [[camera]]s, [[telescope]]s, [[interferometer]]s, [[tape recorder]]s, [[thermometer]]s etc. and tools such as [[clock]]s and [[Tape measure|Tape measure]]s that help in improving the [[accuracy]], [[quality]] and utility of the [[information]] obtained from an observation. Invariable observation requires uniformity of response to a given stimulus, and devices promoting such observation must not give output that is in any way subjective (as if having "a mind (or opinion) of their own"). In [[sampling (statistics)|statistics]], an ''observation'', whether of a sample
The accuracy and tremendous success of science is primarily attributed to the accuracy and [[Objectivity (science)|objectivity]] (i.e. repeatability) of observation of the reality that science explores.
=== The role of observation in the scientific method ===
The [[scientific method]] includes these steps:
# ask a question about a natural phenomenon
# make observations about the phenomenon,
# [[hypothesis|Hypothesize]] an explanation for the phenomenon,
# [[Prediction|predict]] a logical consequence of the guess,
# [[Experiment|Test]] the prediction, and
# review for any mistakes.
Observation plays a role in the first and fourth steps in the above list. Reliance is placed upon the five physical senses, and upon measurement techniques. It is therefore understood that there are always certain limitations in making observations.
== Role of observation in philosophy ==
"Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing [[Nature]] loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them."
Meditations. iv. 36. -'''[[Marcus Aurelius]]'''
'''Observation''' in [[Philosophy|philosophical]] terms is the process of filtering [[sense|sensory]] [[information]] through the thought process. [[Input]] is received via [[hearing (sense)|hearing]], [[sight]], [[olfaction|smell]], [[taste]], or [[haptics|touch]] and then analyzed through either rational or irrational thought. You ''see'' a parent beat their child; you ''observe'' that such an action is either good or bad. Deductions about what behaviors are good or bad may be based on no way preferences about building relationships, or study of the consequences resulting from the observed behavior. With the passage of time, impressions stored in the consciousness about many related observations, together with the resulting relationships and consequences, permit the individual to build a construct about the moral implications of behavior.
The defining characteristic of observation is that it involves drawing conclusions, as well as building personal views about how to handle similar situations in the future, rather than simply registering that something has happened. But according to [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], observation does not imply drawing conclusions and building personal views. He stressed the non-accumulation of knowledge. Such an observation, he asserted, make the [[mind]] free.
==See also==
*[[Naturalistic observation]]
*[[Observer effect]]
*[[Uncertainty principle]]
*[[Observational learning]]
[[Category:Cognition]]
[[Category:Sources of knowledge]]
[[Category:Observation| ]]
[[Category:Philosophy of science]]
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