Scientist
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:''This article is about the profession. For other uses, see [[Scientist (disambiguation)]]
A '''scientist''', in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a [[system|systematic]] activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and [[tradition]]s that are linked to [[schools]] of [[thought]] or [[philosophy]]. In a more restricted sense, scientist refers to individuals who use the [[scientific method]].<ref>
[[Isaac Newton]] (1687, 1713, 1726). "[4] Rules for the study of [[natural philosophy]]", ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'', Third edition. The General Scholium containing the 4 rules follows Book '''3''', ''The System of the World''. Reprinted on pages 794-796 of [[I. Bernard Cohen]] and Anne Whitman's 1999 translation, [[University of California Press]] ISBN 0-520-08817-4, 974 pages.
</ref> The person may be an expert in one or more areas of [[science]].<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. 1989</ref> This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word.
==Etymology==
[[Historical]]ly, scientists were termed "[[Natural philosophy|natural philosophers]]" or "men of science"<ref>Nineteenth-Century Attitudes: Men of Science. http://www.rpi.edu/~rosss2/book.html</ref><ref>Friedrich Ueberweg, History of Philosophy: From Thales to the Present Time. C. Scribner's sons v.1, 1887</ref><ref>Steve Fuller, Kuhn VS. Popper: The Struggle For The Soul Of Science. Columbia University Press 2004. Page 43. ISBN 0231134282
</ref><ref>''Science'' by American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1917. v.45 1917 Jan-Jun. [http://books.google.com/books?id=4gcuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA274&as_brr=1&ei=_TiNR7znI5mmiQGXo4TEBQ#PPA274,M1 Page 274].</ref>; they were men of [[knowledge]]. Science and philosophy were roughly synonymous. [[William Whewell]] coined the term ''scientist'' in 1833 to describe an [[expert]] in the study of [[nature]], but this term did not gain wide acceptance until the turn of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.victorianweb.org/science/whewell.html|title= William Whewell (1794-1866) gentleman of science|accessdate=2007-05-19}}</ref><ref>Tamara Preaud, Derek E. Ostergard, The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory. Yale University Press 1997. 416 pages. ISBN 0300073380 Page 36.</ref> By the [[twentieth century]], the modern notion of science as a special brand of information about the world, practiced by a distinct group and pursued through a unique method, was essentially in place.
==Description==
Science and [[technology]] have continually modified [[human]] existence. As a profession, the scientist of today is widely recognized. Scientists include [[theory|theoreticians]] who mainly develop new models to explain existing data and predict new results, and [[experiment]]alists who mainly test models by making measurements — though in practice the division between these activities is not clear-cut, and many scientists perform both tasks.
[[Mathematics]] is often grouped with the sciences. Like other scientists, [[mathematician]]s start with hunches (hypotheses) and then conduct symbolic or [[computation]]al experiments to test them. Some of the greatest [[physics|physicists]] have also been creative mathematicians. There is a continuum from the most theoretical to the most [[empiricism|empirical]] scientists with no distinct boundaries. In terms of [[personality psychology|personality]], interests, training and [[profession]]al activity, there is little difference between [[applied mathematics|applied mathematicians]] and [[theoretical physics|theoretical physicists]].
Scientists can be motivated in several ways. Many have a desire to understand why the [[world]] is as we see it and how it came to be. They exhibit a strong curiosity about [[reality]]. Other motivations are recognition by their peers and prestige, or the desire to apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of peoples health, the nations, the world, nature or industries. Only few scientists count generating personal wealth as an important driving force behind their science.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
=== Scientists versus Engineers ===
[[Engineers]] and scientists are often confused in the minds of the general public, with the former being closer to [[applied science]]. While scientists explore nature in order to discover general principles, engineers apply established principles drawn from mathematics and science in order to develop economical solutions to technical problems.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[National Society of Professional Engineers]]|title=Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering |url=http://www.nspe.org/media/mr1-faqs.asp|accessdate=2006-09-21|year=2006}} ''Science is knowledge based on observed facts and tested truths arranged in an orderly system that can be validated and communicated to other people. Engineering is the creative application of scientific principles used to plan, build, direct, guide, manage, or work on systems to maintain and improve our daily lives.''</ref><ref name="bls">{{cite web|author=[[Bureau of Labor Statistics]], U.S. Department of Labor|title=Engineers|work=Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition |url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm|accessdate=2006-09-21|year=2006}}</ref> In short, scientists study things whereas engineers build things. However, there are plenty of instances where significant accomplishments are made in both fields by the same individual. Scientists often perform [[engineering]] tasks in designing experimental equipment and building [[prototype]]s, and some [[engineers]] do first-rate scientific research. [[Mechanical engineering|Mechanical]], [[electrical engineering|electrical]], [[chemical engineering|chemical]] and [[aerospace engineering|aerospace]] engineers are often at the forefront of scientific investigation of new phenomena and materials. [[Peter Debye]] received a [[Academic degree|degree]] in [[electrical engineering]] and a [[doctorate]] in [[physics]] before eventually winning a [[Nobel Prize]] in [[chemistry]]. Similarly, [[Paul Dirac]], one of the founders of [[Introduction to quantum mechanics|quantum mechanics]], began his academic career as an [[electrical engineer]] before proceeding to mathematics and later [[theoretical physics]]. [[Claude Shannon]], a theoretical engineer, founded modern [[information theory]].
== Historical Scientists ==
{{see also|Timeline of the history of scientific method}}
[[Image:Ibn haithem portrait.jpg|thumb|right|185px|[[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) has been described as the "first scientist" for his development of the [[scientific method]].]]
[[Image:Albert Einstein photo 1921.jpg|thumb|right|185px|The physicist [[Albert Einstein]] is one of the most well known scientists of the 20th century.]]
[[Image:Louis Pasteur, foto av Félix Nadar.jpg|thumb|right|185px|[[Louis Pasteur]]'s portrait in his later years.]]
An early [[scientific method]] which emphasized [[experiment]]ation was first used by the [[Iraq]]i [[Muslim]] [[Islamic science|Arab physicist]] and [[polymath]] [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen), ''circa'' 1021 AD, in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'', and he has been described as the "first scientist" for this reason.<ref>Bradley Steffens (2006). ''Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist'', Morgan Reynolds Publishing, ISBN 1599350246.</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=March 2008}}
There are notable examples of people who have moved back and forth among disciplines. Such [[polymath]]s were common during the [[Islamic Golden Age]] and European [[Renaissance]]. Many of these early polymath scientists were also religious [[priest]]s and [[Theology|theologians]]: for example, the polymath scientists Alhazen and [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī|al-Biruni]] were [[Kalam|mutakallimiin]]; the polymath physician [[Avicenna]] was a [[Hafiz (Quran)|hafiz]]; the polymath physician [[Ibn al-Nafis]] was a hafiz, [[muhaddith]] and [[ulema]]; the astronomer and physician [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] was a priest; and [[Gregor Mendel]], whose discoveries on [[inheritance]] founded modern [[genetics]] and provides a mechanism to explain [[Charles Darwin]]'s observations about [[evolution]], was also a priest.
[[René Descartes|Descartes]] was not only a pioneer of [[analytic geometry]] but formulated a [[theory]] of [[mechanics]] and advanced ideas about the origins of [[muscle contraction|animal movement]] and [[perception]]. [[Visual perception|Vision]] interested the [[physicist]]s [[Thomas Young (scientist)|Young]] and [[Hermann von Helmholtz|Helmholtz]], who also studied [[optics]], [[Hearing (sense)|hearing]] and [[music]]. [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] extended Descartes' mathematics by inventing [[calculus]] (contemporaneously with [[Gottfried Leibniz|Leibniz]]). He provided a comprehensive formulation of [[classical mechanics]] and investigated [[light]] and optics. [[Joseph Fourier|Fourier]] founded a new branch of mathematics — [[Fourier series|infinite, periodic series]] — studied [[heat]] [[flux#Flux definition and theorems|flow]] and [[infrared|infrared radiation]], and discovered the [[greenhouse effect]]. [[John von Neumann|Von Neumann]], [[Alan Turing|Turing]], [[Aleksandr Khinchin|Khinchin]], [[Andrey Markov|Markov]] and [[Norbert Wiener|Wiener]], all mathematicians, made major contributions to science and [[probability|probability theory]], including the ideas behind [[computer]]s, and some of the foundations of [[statistical mechanics]] and [[quantum mechanics]]. Many mathematically inclined scientists, including [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]], were also [[musician]]s.
In the late 19th century, [[Louis Pasteur]], an [[organic chemistry|organic chemist]], discovered that [[microorganism]]s can cause [[disease]]. A few years earlier, [[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.]], the [[United States|American]] [[physician]], poet and [[essayist]], noted that [[sepsis]] in women following [[childbirth]] was spread by the hands of doctors and [[nurse]]s, four years before [[Ignaz Semmelweis|Semmelweis]] in [[Europe]]. There are many compelling stories in [[medicine]] and [[biology]], such as the development of ideas about the circulation of [[blood]] from [[Galen]] to [[William Harvey|Harvey]]. The flowering of [[genetics]] and [[molecular biology]] in the 20th century is replete with famous names. [[Santiago Ramón y Cajal|Ramón y Cajal]] won the [[Nobel Prize]] in 1906 for his remarkable observations in [[neuroscience|neuroanatomy]].
Some see a [[dichotomy]] between experimental sciences and purely "[[observation]]al" sciences such as [[astronomy]], [[meteorology]], [[oceanography]] and [[seismology]]. But [[astronomer]]s have done basic research in [[optics]], developed [[charge-coupled device]]s, and in recent decades have sent [[space exploration#Unmanned missions|space probes]] to study other [[planet]]s in addition to using the [[Hubble Space Telescope|Hubble Telescope]] to probe the [[Beginning of the universe|origins]] of the [[Universe]] some 14 billion years ago. [[Rotational spectroscopy|Microwave spectroscopy]] has now identified dozens of [[organic compound|organic molecules]] in [[interstellar medium|interstellar space]], requiring [[laboratory]] experimentation and [[computer simulation]] to confirm the observational [[data]] and starting a new branch of chemistry. [[Computer simulation|Computer modeling]] and [[number|numerical]] methods are techniques required of students in every field of [[quantitative]] [[science]].
Those considering science as a [[career]] often look to the frontiers. These include [[physical cosmology|cosmology]] and [[biology]], especially [[molecular biology]] and the [[human genome]] project. Other areas of active research include the exploration of [[matter]] at the scale of [[elementary particle]]s as described by [[particle physics|high-energy physics]], and [[nanotechnology]], which hopes to develop [[electronics]] including microscopic [[computer]]s, and perhaps [[artificial intelligence]]. Although there have been remarkable discoveries with regard to [[brain]] function and [[neurotransmitter]]s, the nature of the [[mind]] and [[human]] [[thought]] still remain.
== Types of scientists ==
; [[Archeologist]]s
; [[Astronomer]]s : [[List of astrophysicists|astrophysicists]]
; [[Biologist]]s :[[astrobiology|astrobiologists]], [[botany|botanists]], [[entomology|entomologists]], [[evolutionary biologist]]s, [[ecology|ecologists]], [[geneticist]]s, [[herpetology|herpetologists]], [[ichthyology|ichthyologists]], [[immunology|immunologists]], [[lepidopterist]]s, [[microbiologist]]s, [[neuroscientist]]s, [[ornithology|ornithologists]], [[paleontologists]], [[pathology|pathologists]], [[pharmacology|pharmacologists]], [[physiology|physiologists]], and [[zoology|zoologists]]
; [[Chemist]]s : [[biochemistry|biochemists]]
; [[Computer scientist]]s
; [[Earth science|Earth scientists]]: [[geologist]]s, [[mineralogy|mineralogists]], [[seismology|seismologists]], [[volcanology|volcanologists]], [[hydrologist]]s, [[glaciology|glaciologists]], [[limnology|limnologists]], [[meteorologists]], and [[oceanography|oceanographers]]
; [[Mathematician]]s
; [[Physicist]]s
; [[Philosopher]]s
; [[Psychologist]]s
; [[Social sciences|Social scientists]] : [[anthropology|anthropologists]], [[demography|demographers]], [[economist]]s, [[geographer]]s, [[political economy|political economists]], [[political science|political scientists]], and [[sociology|sociologists]]
; [[Technological]] and [[agricultural]] scientists
; [[Biomedical research|Medical scientists]]
; [[Military science|Military scientists]]
== See also ==
* [[Fields Medal]]
* [[Gentleman scientist]]
* [[History of science]] (and the [[:Category:History of science|History of science category]])
* [[Lay people]]
* [[Mad scientist]]
* [[Natural science]]
* [[Nobel Prize]]
* [[Protoscience]]
* [[Pseudoscience]]
* [[Social science]]
* [[Women in science]]
=== Related lists ===
* [[List of engineers]]
* [[List of mathematicians]]
* [[List of scientists]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External articles==
;Further reading
* Science, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=QwcuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA511&lr=&as_brr=1&ei=MFuNR7umLIXqiwGyjOWXBQ#PPA511,M1 The Relation of Pure Science to Industrial Research]''. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Page 511+.
* Arthur Jack Meadows. ''The Victorian Scientist: The Growth of a Profession'', 2004. ISBN 0712308946.
* Charles George Herbermann, The Catholic Encyclopedia. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=in8qAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA600&as_brr=1&ei=cUGNR5G_CpXGiwHp4dDDBQ#PPA598,M1 Science and the Church]''. The Encyclopedia press, 1913. v.13. Page 598.
;Websites
*[http://www.archive.org/details/philosinductsci01wewrich The philosophy of the inductive sciences, founded upon their history (1847)- Complete Text]
* [http://www.cafeintellect.com/ Who was the greatest scientist ever?] - Cafe Intellect
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2006/08/29/ecteach29.xml For best results, add a little inspiration] - The Telegraph about ''What Inspired You?'', a survey of key thinkers in science, technology and medicine
*[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/284/5411/55 Peer Review Journal Science on amateur scientists]
*[http://fsm-sciences.org World Social Forum Sciences et dDémocratie]
[[Category:Scientists| ]]
[[Category:History of science]]
[[Category:Life, physical, and social science occupations]]
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