Why science is the greatest thing on Earth. Period.

"Francis, you go on and on about biology. Is it really that great?"

I often say that science is the greatest thing on Earth,  usually to the groans of my friends who reside in other fields. But do you know what I love the most about science? The fact that everyone, in their own way, is a scientist. What do I mean by that, you may ask?

Our good friends at Merriam-Webster define science as the following:

sci·ence

noun \ˈsī-ən(t)s\

: knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation

That definition (granted, there are many others, but I think this one is pretty good!) means that nearly everything we do can be considered a science. The barista that made you your cappuccino this morning? Scientist. The plumber who spent an hour figuring out how to fix your pipes? Scientist. The cleaning person who had to figure out how to empty every trashcan in the building before closing? Scientist.

Figure 1. A barista blurring the lines between art and science

Science, at its core, is a way of thinking. When you take in observations of the surrounding world, apply a few sprinkles of logic and execute a plan, you've just performed a bit of science yourself! Thus, the only thing that makes "natural" scientists (i.e. biologists, chemists) different from accountants, dancers, and florists is simply what problems we choose to apply our logic too. Our days are filled with "everyday science", ranging from cooking your dinner to evaluating whether or not the telemarketer on the phone is trying to scam you out of fifty bucks.

Science is about asking questions and questioning everything. Science is about being curious and not being afraid to travel down the road less traveled on. Science is about finding something that lights a fire in you that burns like an inferno, so hot that it makes you want to spend your whole life pursuing, understanding, and embracing it.

YOU are a scientist, and life is one giant experiment. That's pretty freaking cool.