Science Fiction Case

Whitney Camp

English 111- Freshman Composition

Week 11 Text Analysis Formal Essay

Science Fiction

Driven by asking questions and finding answers- science is a way to organize knowledge that can be rationally explained and proven based on concrete facts and experiments. By asking the same questions, philosophers and other great thinkers have found new answers to questions that have already been answered and proven with scientific research. Some of these alternative belief systems even attempt to answer some of the bigger questions in modern day, for example, the creation of the universe and life itself. A prime example of an alternative belief system is Creationism, which is the belief that the universe, and all forms of life, were created by a supernatural being out of “nothingness.” Being protective of their beliefs, those who agree with the founding principles of Creationism will argue that, regardless of its inability to be scientifically proven, that Creationism should be considered a branch of science. When it comes to classification, in order for an idea to be recognized as a scientific fact, it must fulfill specific criteria. This criteria, commonly known as the scientific method, requires that the theory in question must be characterized and studied, a hypothesis must be formulated and be able to endure various experiments. With each experiment or test, the results produced must be analyzed and compared to the original hypothesis. However, without the ability to fulfill these requirements, alternative theories such as Creationism, are more accurately categorized as a philosophical belief instead of a branch of science.

In contrast to the beliefs that compose Creationism, after years of experimenting and analyzing, the creation of the universe and life itself can not only be explained but supported by scientific findings. Due to the questionable creditability of many information sources, and complex nature of these scientific findings, a wonderful and easily understood explanation to this question is delivered by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson during his interview with TIME Magazine, as part of a series of interviews conducted by the magazine, entitled “TIME's 10 Questions.” When asked to share the most astounding fact about the universe, Neil deGrasse Tyson used his powerful voice and his sidekick Science, to reveal that the most astounding fact is the physical connection that is shared between all living things and the universe itself. By offering scientific facts as proof, he continued to explain how the universe and all forms of life were created. As a result, Neil deGrasse Tyson's interview inadvertently challenged the philosophy of creationism by offering proven scientific facts in order to explain the creation of life and the universe.