Science is the study of the world around you. Science explains the world we live in, how things work, how living things come to be and how things happen the way they do.

Everything around us concerns science and science processes. Science starts with observation, moves to a hypotheses (educated guess), and ends with a prediction or a theory. Science is one of the basic human pursuits in life, much like music, art, and literature.

Science is the study of logic. It figures things out. Science teaches us how to learn by using the scientific method, experimentation, and research.  Anything you learn makes you smarter, and science fosters logical and critical thinking.

Science makes our life much better, easier, and longer. Science can make life more enjoyable and pleasant and the world a safer place to exist through construction, navigation, transportation, agriculture, and medicine.

Of course, one can argue that there is a downside to science. We humans have developed weapons that can destroy each other very quickly and in huge numbers. The knowledge of how  we get along with each other lags our ability to destroy each other.

People study science so they can better understand planet Earth and the larger universe.  Biology is study of living things. Physics explains how the world works. Chemistry explains how the universe is put together. Earth science encompasses climate, weather, geology, astronomy, and geomorphology.

For example, knowing how the atmosphere works allows us to address global warming. Knowing about how the body works with cells and systems and life functions, may lead to prolonging life and creating vaccines and cures for diseases. Knowing how the Internet works provides us a pathway and access an unlimited amount of information.

Each of these main topics of study has a host of subtitles. If you “Goggle” the phrase “list of sciences ” you find that 633 science titles pop up. The list ranges from acarology (the study of mites) to zymurgy (the chemistry of brewing and distilling).

Science can make you less gullible. There is a lot of wrong or misleading information on television, the Internet, magazines, and yes, even from politicians and government leaders.

Science helps us filter through the claims of advertising and helps us spot the hoaxes, scams, schemes, and cons that are out there.

And finally, science is a lot of fun. It can be bizarre, bewildering, exciting, and satisfying.  Science complements literature, art, music, and religion. While religion allows us to believe in things that are not provable, science is an avenue to prove things that are hard to believe.