Science & Nature

The concept that an object can be moved, changed, or otherwise affected without being physically touched (as in mechanical contact) by another object.

The minimum energy which must be available to a chemical system with potential reactants to result in a chemical reaction.

Hypothetical vantage point from which an observer can objectively perceive the subject at hand, with a view of the entire system.

An experiment in which information about the test is masked (kept) from the participant, to reduce or eliminate bias, until after a trial outcome is known. If both tester and subject are blinded, the trial is called a double-blind experiment.

In chemistry, it is a substance which increases the rate of a reaction (or to enable it to occur at all). Applied more generally, it can be something that causes change.

An evolutionary hypothesis which proposes that organisms must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate not merely to gain reproductive advantage, but also simply to survive while pitted against ever-evolving opposing organisms in a constantly changing environment.

Bias occurs due to people's overreliance on directly testing a given hypothesis as well as neglecting indirect testing.

A biological phenomenon in which an animal shows renewed mating interest when introduced to a new partner, even after losing interest in a previous one — observed across many species.

The principle that humans, on the Earth or in the Solar system, are not privileged observers of the universe.

A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts and suggests a hypothetical state of the world in which to assess the impact of an action.

The tendency for respondents to understate dissatisfaction because they don't want to offend the organization seeking their opinion.

Superficially aggressive behavior caused by seeing something cute, such as a human baby or young animal.

A residential environment whose physical characteristics — building layout and site plan — function to allow inhabitants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security.

A measure of disorder or randomness in a system. In any closed system, things naturally drift from order toward disorder over time — which is why so many everyday processes are easy to start but impossible to reverse.

The idea that the universe and everything in it has occurred and will recur in exactly the same way an infinite number of times, with every moment repeating in an endless cycle.

The bias for pre-existing expectations in observing a phenomenon to invariably influence the outcome of that observation.

The apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence and high probability estimates for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations.

The substantial and long-sustained increase in both fluid and crystallized intelligence test scores that was measured in many parts of the world over the 20th century.

The fundamental response options when humans (and other animals) are exposed to stressful or threatening situations, often summarized by the simpler "fight or flight" phrase.

A theory proposing that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet.

A Wiradjuri concept encompassing wind, change, and the feelings of fear and apprehension that accompany transformation.

The biological notion that every organism has an optimum size, and a change in size inevitably leads to a change in form.

A type of reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.

A neuroscientific theory claiming that an increase in synaptic efficacy arises from a cell's repeated and persistent stimulation. It is an attempt to explain synaptic plasticity — the adaptation of brain neurons during the learning process. Commonly summarized as, "What fires together, wires together."

A form of indirect protection from a disease or circumstance when a large proportion of a population has become inoculated to it, thus protecting the at-risk individuals.

The dependence of the state of a system on its history. For example, a magnet may have more than one possible magnetic moment in a given magnetic field, depending on how the field changed in the past.

In ecology, a way in which animals distribute themselves among several patches of resources. The theory predicts that the distribution of animals among patches will minimize resource competition and maximize fitness.

A framework for ranking civilizations by how much energy they can harness — from a single planet's resources (Type I) to an entire galaxy's output (Type III) and beyond.

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species are described as playing a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community.

You can only optimize for two of three competing goals — price, quality, or speed — never all three at once.

A trait that is more harmful than helpful — in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful.

The difference between a measured value and the true value. Every measurement carries some degree of error — understanding its sources is key to good science.

Problems that are caused by organisms being imperfectly or inadequately adapted to novel environmental conditions.

The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in heritable traits of a population over time.

A debate about human behavior as determined by a person's genes (nature), or by the environment during a person's life and upbringing (nurture).

A guiding reference point — a fixed, clear, and durable goal that keeps a team or strategy oriented through uncertainty and change.

The view that scientific change does not occur because individual scientists change their mind, but that successive generations of scientists have different views.

The argument that in biological classification, no single entity or characteristic is without exception simultaneously sufficient and necessary for group membership.

A theory that suggests that spaces we find most acceptable to be in present us with great opportunity, yet we must be in a place of safety at the time, i.e. "to see without being seen."

A bias in academic research that favors the publishing of novel or interesting results (at the expense of 'null' results) — which skews the publishing literature.

A theory in evolutionary biology that once species appear in the fossil record the population will become stable, showing little evolutionary change for most of its geological history, save for periodic eras of massive change and diversity.

The average number of people one infected person will pass a disease to. An R0 above 1 means an epidemic grows; below 1, it fades. A simple number that captures how contagious a disease really is.

Evolutionary theory that suggests organisms must constantly evolve and adapt simply to maintain their fitness and survive in an ever-changing and competitive environment, inspired by a passage in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass.

The feeling of disadvantage that comes not from objective lack but from comparison — perceiving that you have less than the people or groups around you, or less than you feel entitled to.

A wide range of cognitive biases that influence the responses of participants away from an accurate or truthful response.

Preference for people to prefer savanna-like environments that are expansive, show scattered trees, water, and uniform grasses — based on the belief that early humans evolved in such environments that thus lends a genetic disposition towards favoring such environments even artificially (parks, golf courses, overlooks).

A thought experiment illustrating a conundrum in quantum mechanics as applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a cat that may be simultaneously both alive and dead — as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur.

The theory that individuals within a population attempt to reduce their predation risk by putting other conspecifics between themselves and predators.

An analysis of how a system changes by some adjustment to inputs; one changes the model and observe the behavior. Specific to a quantitative model it's, determining how the independent variable values will impact a dependent variable given a set of assumptions.

A Japanese practice of therapeutic relaxation through immersion in forest environments, literally meaning "forest bathing" or "taking in the forest atmosphere."

A measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise.

The finding that reaction times are usually faster, and reactions are usually more accurate, when the stimulus occurs in the same relative location as the response, even if the stimulus location is irrelevant to the task.

A type of response bias that demonstrates the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

A trait or feature that arises as a byproduct of some other process or design rather than being directly selected or intended — like the triangular spaces above an arch that exist only because of the arch's shape.

The notion that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. Examples include Hubble's law (derived by Georges Lemaître two years before Edwin Hubble), the Pythagorean theorem (known to Babylonian mathematicians before Pythagoras), and Halley's comet (observed by astronomers since at least 240 BC).

Phenomenon in which the measure of an item of interest evolves to replace the item itself. An often-used example if of a manager beginning to believe that a customer satisfaction survey score is actually customer satisfaction.

Considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences, often because to run the \*actual\* experiment is unfeasible, expensive, or dangerous.

An organism's subjective model of the world, shaped by the capabilities of its particular sensory organs and perceptual systems. Though organisms may share the same physical environment, each inhabits a distinct perceptual reality.

In physics, a fundamental limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle (e.g. electron or quark), such as position and momentum, can be known.