beckyp-ga,
To begin, let's answer the question of "What is the definition of
science."
1) Merriam-Webster (Ref. 1) gives a good definition of science as "a
department of systematized knowledge as an object of study." That
compact little statement tells us that science is basically the
pursuit of knowledge. It doesn't just apply to "natural" sciences like
physics or chemistry, it can also apply to theology or even sports:
the "science" of football.
2) The Academic Press (Ref. 2) gives a definition geared more toward
the natural sciences: "the systematic observation of natural events
and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate
laws and principles based on these facts".
3) This site (Ref. 3) at Washington State University gives a lengthy
discussion of a definition of science starting from it's Latin root
"scire" (to know).
In summary, we see that science not only applies to the study
"natural" phenomena but to any topic that can be studied and
categorized.
Let's move on to the difference between a "hard" and a "soft" science.
A "hard science" is a science (based on the definition we established
above) that is rigorous in it's approach to gathering and furthering
knowledge. Astronomy is a good example of this. Before giving a
reference to this let's get a definition of a "soft science".
Soft sciences are a bit more relaxed in their approach to study and
application. Psychology is a good example of this. It has it's rigour
in it's methods, but application is very "patient specific" and trial
and error. In contrast, going back to astronomy, the prediction of the
location of a comet can be made very accurate by the knowledge of a
few key parameters (See references 4, 5). So, "hard science" comes
from "hard facts" (numbers and the like) whereas "soft science" is
based on "fuzzier" knowledge.
Basic sciences, as they are usually defined, are just that... "basic".
They form the foundation upon which other, more complex sciences, are
built. The basic sciences would be (Ref. 6, ignore the fact that the
paper is about bioengineering, it has a good discussion of basic
sciences):
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Biology (or Life Science)
- Mathematics
Most other sciences and engineering disciplines are based on these
"basics"! Even these are interrelated. Chemistry, Biology and Physics
all rely on math. Chemistry relies on Physics, Biology on Chemistry,
and Math on Chemistry, Physics and Biology. It's interesting how all
these disciplines rely on math, and how math relies on all these
disciplines.
As for a list of all fields of study... well, this is an attempt (a
poor one actually). This turned out to be much harder than I thought.
My suggestion o you would be to do some research in a library...
browsing shelves, or using the card catalog. The stacks in good
university library can show you much more than I am showing you here:
Physics:Particle Physics
Physics:Mechanics
Physics:Applied Physics
Physics:Astronomy
Physics:Quantum Electronics
Physics:Theoretical Physics
Physics:Solid State Physics
Chemistry:Polymer Chemistry
Chemistry:Electronic and Optical Materials
Chemistry:Photochemistry
Chemistry:Surface Chemistry
Chemistry:Organic Chemisty
Chemistry:Inorganic Chemistry
Biology:Agriculture & Sustainable Development
Biology:Behavioral Sciences
Biology:Biochemistry
Biology:Biotechnology
Biology:Botany
Biology:Crops & Soils Science
Biology:Entomology & Pest Management
Biology:Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity
Biology:Evolution & Paleontology
Biology:Food Science & Technology
Biology:Forestry & Renewable Resources
Biology:Immunology
Biology:Marine Biology
Biology:Microbiology
Biology:Molecular & Cell Biology
Biology:Neurosciences
Biology:Parasitology
Biology:Physiology and Biophysics
Biology:Plant Sciences
Biology:Virology
Biology:Wildlife & Fisheries
Biology:Zoology & Veterinary Medicine
Mathematics:Algorithms and Theory
Mathematics:Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
Mathematics:Operations Research
Mathematics:Statistics
Mathematics:Applied Mathematics
Mathematics:Algebra and Discrete Mathematics
Mathematics:Analysis and Geometry
Mathematics:Computational Mathematics
See references 7-9 for more information about science in general.
References 10 through 13 are some links to Journals published by
scientific societies.
I hope that this answers your question. Be sure to ask for a
clarification if you need it.
Best Regards,
krobert-ga
References:
1) Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th Ed.),
Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1998)
2) Science, Definition from AP Dictionary of Science and Technology.
http://www.academicpress.com/inscight/12231996/science1.htm
3) What is Science: A Baseline Definition
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/SCIENCE/BASELINE.HTM
4) Hard Science vs. Soft Science
http://milpah.com/~bill/notions/ecology/hardsoft.htm
5) Hard Science vs. Soft Science
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22hard+science%22+%22soft+science%22+-%22science+fiction%22+site:edu&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=4e5p9v%24nrh%40bronze.coil.com&rnum=3
6) Basic Sciences Curriculum: The Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and
Life Science Foundation of a Bioengineering Curriculum
http://summit.whitaker.org/white/basic.html
7) American Association for the Advancement of Science
http://www.aaas.org
8) Science Resources by Discipline
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/6576/diciplns.htm
9) PhysicsWeb
http://physicsweb.org/
10) Journals of the APS
http://publish.aps.org
11) Journals of the ACS
http://pubs.acs.org
12) American Mathematical Society Journals Program
http://www.ams.org/journals/
13) ASM Journals Online
http://journals.asm.org/ |
Request for Answer Clarification by
beckyp-ga
on
12 Nov 2002 08:44 PST
Dear Krobert -
My main, and most important question has not been answered: in your
own words, "well, this is an attempt (a poor one actually)".
As I mentioned, I already attempted my own search. Just scanning the
-undergraduate and graduate programs at 3 universities netted me at
least 4 times the options that you have provided.
I know this is a difficult subject. That is why I turned to google.
And, no, I don't really want to go to my local library. Yes, of
course, I can go there. However, I didn't really want to get dressed
this morning.
I really am sorry. I really do want an answer.
Where do we go from here?
Becky
|
Clarification of Answer by
krobert-ga
on
12 Nov 2002 10:33 PST
Here is a more complete set, but again (and I'm not trying to belittle
my own answer), I don't believe that this is nearly complete. Also,
there are some disciplines practiced by only a few people in the
world, you are not going to find them here. So, after that disclaimer:
Physics Disciplines:
1) Acoustics
2) Applied Physics
3) Astronomy
4) Astrophysics
5) Atmospheric Physics
6) Chemical Physics
7) Colaration Physics
8) Computational Physics
9) Condensed Matter
10) Cosmology
11) Crystallography
12) Ecological Physics
13) Electron Microscopy
14) Electromagnetism
15) Energy
16) Engineering Physics
17) Environmental Physics
18) Fluid Mechanics
19) Geophysics
20) Laser Physics
21) Marine Physics
22) Mathematical Physics
23) Mechanics
24) Medical Physics
25) Nuclear Physics
26) Particle Physics
27) Plasma Physics
28) Physical Electronics
29) Physical Research Techniques
30) Optics
31) Quantum Electronics
32) Quantum Mechanics
33) Radiation Physics
34) Relativity
35) Rheology
36) Solid State Physics
37) Technological Physics
38) Theoretical Physics
39) Thermodynamics
40) Vacuum Physics
Biology Disciplines:
1) Animal and Plant Biology
2) Agriculture & Sustainable Development
3) Applied Biology
4) Applied Cell Science
5) Applied Environmental Biology
6) Aquaculture
7) Aquatic Biology
8) Behavioural Biology
9) Biochemistry
10) Biological Sciences
11) Biotechnology
12) Botany
13) Cell Biology
14) Computational Biology
15) Crops & Soils Science
16) Developmental Biology/Reproductional Biology
17) Entomology & Pest Management
18) Environmental Biology
19) Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity
20) Evolution & Paleontology
21) Field Biology
22) Food Science & Technology
23) Forestry & Renewable Resources
24) Freshwater Biology
25) Immunology
26) Marine Biology
27) Microbiology
28) Molecular & Cell Biology
29) Neurobiology
30) Parasitology
31) Physiology and Biophysics
32) Plant Sciences
33) Virology
34) Wildlife & Fisheries
35) Zoology & Veterinary Medicine
Chemistry Disciplines:
1) Analytical Chemistry
2) Applied Chemistry
3) Biodeterioration of Materials
4) Biomolecular Chemistry
5) Bio-organic Chemistry
6) Chemical Technology
7) Colour Chemistry
8) Computational Chemistry
9) Cosmetic Chemistry
10) Crystallography
11) Environmental Chemistry
12) Electronic and Optical Materials
13) Industrial Chemistry
14) Inorganic Chemistry
15) Macromolecular Chemistry
16) Marine Chemistry
17) Medicinal Chemistry
18) Organic Chemical Synthesis
19) Organic Chemistry
20) Petrochemical Studies
21) Photochemistry
22) Polymer Chemistry
23) Process Plant Operation
24) Radio Chemistry
25) Surface Chemistry
26) Surface Coating Technology
27) Theoretical Chemistry
Mathematics Disciplines:
1) Analysis
2) Algebra
3) Algorithms and Theory
4) Applied Mathematics
5) Calculus
6) Chaos
7) Combinatorics
8) Computability
9) Computational Logic
10) Computational Mathematics
11) Differential Equations
12) Discrete Mathematics
13) Engineering Mathematics
14) Factoring
15) Field Theory
16) Games
17) Geometry
18) Graph Theory
19) Group Theory
20) Industrial Mathematics
21) Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
22) Linear Algebra
23) Logic
24) Model Theory
25) Mathematical Sciences
26) Mathematical Studies
27) Non-Euclidian Geometry
28) Number Theory
29) Numeracy
30) Numerical Analysis
31) Numerical Mathematics
32) Numerical Methods
33) Operations Research
34) Probability
35) Proof Theory
36) Pure Mathematics
37) Set Theory
38) Statistics
39) Topology
40) Trigonometry
Here's one more top-level (not basic) discipline, which should be
listed here.. these are more applied than basic or pure science.
Environmental Science and Other Physical Sciences:
1) Applied Environmental Science
2) Atmospheric Chemistry
3) Conservation Policy
4) Earth Resources
5) Earth Science
6) Ecology
7) Environmental Science
8) Environmental Studies
9) Geochemistry
10) Geology
11) Geomatics
12) Geophysics
13) Human Ecology
14) Meteorology
15) Oceanography
16) Paleontology
17) Pollution Control
18) Quarternary Studies
19) Radiation Science
20) Water Resources
DMOZ is a good resource for exploring this further. I would recommend
the following Categories:
Biology
http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/
Chemistry
http://dmoz.org/Science/Chemistry/
Math
http://dmoz.org/Science/Math/
Physics
http://dmoz.org/Science/Physics/
Some of the more "soft sciences" are also listed in:
Social Sciences
http://dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/
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