Solving Everyday Problems With the Scientific Method: Thinking Like a Scientist
by Mak, Don K.; Mak, Angela T.; Mak, Anthony B.Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2009-01-05
Publisher(s): World Scientific Pub Co Inc
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Summary
This book describes how one can use The Scientific Method to solve everyday problems including medical ailments, health issues, money management, traveling, shopping, cooking, household chores, etc. It illustrates how to exploit the information collected from our five senses, how to solve problems when no information is available for the present problem situation, how to increase our chances of success by redefining a problem, and how to extrapolate our capabilities by seeing a relationship among heretofore unrelated concepts. One should formulate a hypothesis as early as possible in order to have a sense of direction regarding which path to follow. Occasionally, by making wild conjectures, creative solutions can transpire. However, hypotheses need to be well-tested. Through this way, The Scientific Method can help readers solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. Containing real-life examples of how various problems are solved for instance, how some observant patients cure their own illnesses when medical experts have failed this book will train readers to observe what others may have missed and conceive what others may not have contemplated. With practice, they will be able to solve more problems than they could previously imagine.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| Prelude | p. 1 |
| The Scientific Method | p. 3 |
| Edwin Smith papyrus | p. 3 |
| Greek philosophy (4th century BC) | p. 4 |
| Islamic philosophy (8th century AD-15th century AD) | p. 6 |
| European Science (12th century AD-16th century AD) | p. 7 |
| Scientific Revolution (1543 AD-18th century AD) | p. 9 |
| Humanism and Empiricism | p. 13 |
| The Scientific Method | p. 15 |
| Application of the Scientific Method to Everyday Problem | p. 16 |
| Observation | p. 17 |
| External information | p. 21 |
| Missed information | p. 21 |
| Misinformation | p. 22 |
| Hidden information | p. 27 |
| No information | p. 32 |
| Unaware information | p. 35 |
| Evidence-based information | p. 37 |
| Internal information | p. 37 |
| Self-denied information | p. 38 |
| Biased information | p. 39 |
| Unexploited information | p. 40 |
| Peripheral information | p. 42 |
| Hypothesis | p. 45 |
| Abduction | p. 55 |
| Wild conjectures | p. 57 |
| Albert Einstein | p. 61 |
| Experiment | p. 65 |
| Experiment versus hypothesis | p. 79 |
| Platonic, Aristotelian, Baconian, and Galilean methodology | p. 81 |
| Recognition | p. 83 |
| John Nash | p. 92 |
| Problem Situation and Problem Definition | p. 97 |
| Perspectives on different levels | p. 97 |
| Perspectives on the same level | p. 98 |
| Induction and Deduction | p. 107 |
| Induction | p. 107 |
| Deduction | p. 110 |
| Alternative Solutions | p. 119 |
| Lotion bottle with a pump dispenser | p. 137 |
| Relation | p. 139 |
| Creativity | p. 149 |
| Ordinary thinking | p. 150 |
| Creative thinking | p. 151 |
| Knowledge | p. 151 |
| Insight | p. 152 |
| Unconscious mind | p. 153 |
| Double helix | p. 154 |
| Genetic material | p. 154 |
| Watson and Crick at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge | p. 155 |
| Rosalind Franklin at King's College, London | p. 158 |
| The triple helix model | p. 159 |
| The double helix model | p. 161 |
| Creative thinking and Ordinary thinking | p. 164 |
| Scientific Research and Scientific Method | p. 165 |
| Can we be more creative? | p. 166 |
| Mathematics | p. 169 |
| Probable Value | p. 195 |
| Epilogue | p. 209 |
| Bibliography | p. 213 |
| Index | p. 219 |
| List of Tables | p. viii |
| List of Figures | p. x |
| Foreword | p. xi |
| Acknowledgements | p. xv |
| Notes on Contributors | p. xvi |
| Introduction | p. xix |
| Emerging Banking Systems | p. 1 |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Systemic financial crises in the 1990s | p. 2 |
| Common characteristics of recent financial crises | p. 6 |
| Recovery strategies followed by emerging countries | p. 9 |
| The reform of the banking systems of emerging countries | p. 13 |
| The role of foreign banks | p. 21 |
| Conclusions | p. 26 |
| China | p. 34 |
| Introduction | p. 34 |
| The Chinese economy: an overview | p. 36 |
| Structure of the Chinese banking system | p. 39 |
| Recent reforms in the Chinese banking sector | p. 41 |
| International integration of the Chinese banking system | p. 48 |
| Conclusions | p. 53 |
| India | p. 56 |
| Introduction | p. 56 |
| From protectionism to liberalisation | p. 57 |
| The bank nationalisation period | p. 58 |
| The banking reforms | p. 60 |
| The structure of the Indian banking system | p. 65 |
| Financial deepening and financial inclusion | p. 71 |
| Conclusions | p. 74 |
| Indonesia | p. 79 |
| Introduction | p. 79 |
| The Indonesian economy: a five-step transformation | p. 81 |
| The 1997-99 Asian crisis: the onset and the way out | p. 85 |
| A bank-oriented financial system | p. 87 |
| Recent performance and lingering fragilities of Indonesian banks | p. 92 |
| Foreign banks in Indonesia: role and perspectives | p. 97 |
| Brazil | p. 101 |
| Introduction | p. 101 |
| A long-term perspective on Brazilian development | p. 102 |
| The Brazilian banking system at the turn of the century | p. 106 |
| The Brazilian system at the beginning of the new millennium: an emerging system with some 'anomalies' | p. 111 |
| Assessing the stability of the Brazilian banking system | p. 117 |
| Conclusions | p. 120 |
| North Africa | p. 126 |
| The economies of North Africa in the framework of Euro-Mediterranean relations | p. 126 |
| Structural profiles of the North African economies | p. 134 |
| Recent macroeconomic developments in North Africa | p. 138 |
| Structural reforms in North African economies | p. 143 |
| International opening | p. 144 |
| Institutional framework | p. 146 |
| The banking systems of North Africa: quantitative indicators | p. 146 |
| The banking systems of North Africa: qualitative profiles | p. 149 |
| Stability and efficiency | p. 150 |
| Recent reforms | p. 152 |
| Privatisations and the role of foreign banks | p. 154 |
| Conclusions | p. 155 |
| Russia | p. 162 |
| Introduction | p. 162 |
| The Russian economy: from default to recovery | p. 163 |
| From Perestroika to the new millennium: banking reforms a la Russe | p. 165 |
| Structure and development of the Russian banking system | p. 168 |
| Recent evolutions and perspectives: between dirigisme and opening the market | p. 172 |
| Conclusions | p. 178 |
| Turkey | p. 183 |
| Introduction | p. 183 |
| Recent trends in the Turkish economy | p. 184 |
| The banking sector in Turkey: a deep change | p. 189 |
| Banking in Turkey: risks and opportunities | p. 193 |
| Conclusions | p. 199 |
| Index | p. 205 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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