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7. Hypothesis: The Why and How questions lead us to a hypothesis. We should not be satisfied with one hypothesis. We should form the habit of making alternatives – this is what we call rational thinking. We often forget that we can rationalise almost contradictory observations. Rational thinking alone leads us no where. Making hypothesis without sound information can be counter productive. 8. Experimentation: Last but not the least, testing of the hypothesis is an important step we cannot forget. Every experiment is a test of a hypothesis. This testing is also a skill. Experimentation needs manipulative and organisational skills. We need these also in our everyday life. Experimentation is not only for the specialists and the Research and Development establishments. To say that "I will find out by trying and learn", is research; and “I will keep trying and improving", is development. Our society must imbibe this spirit of R&D. I believe that if our society learns the above methods of science, it will be far more important than learning the laws of physics or the formulae of chemistry. Moreover, once the methods of science are absorbed, children will be motivated to learn the concepts of science and the facts by themselves. Out of all the above skills, the organising of information, recognising patterns and making a hypothesis, are expressions of creativity. This is what intelligence is. The same information may be sometimes, tabulated in different ways to bring out startling conclusions. Another quality, not a skill, is often an important part of the scientific approach. This is the ability to bring out more than one hypothesis so that we can choose the best from the alternatives. The tendency is often to stick to the first thing that comes to the mind. < Rural Development Through Education System 178
