Overview
Scientific Truth and Theory: My World Through a Lens of Scientific Truth: A Visual Essay My World Through a Lens of Scientific Truth: A Visual Essay
Go into your community and seek out evidence of the connection between science and your surroundings. From power plants to cell phone towers; from the Northern Lights to a carton of milk going sour in your kitchen fridge - evidence can be found anywhere!
What you will need to keep in mind is that, ultimately, you need to:
show a connection between you and/or your community, and evidence of science in your daily life; and
demonstrate through analysis, how that evidence contributes to your understanding of yourself or informs your worldview.
- Step 1:
- You may want to begin with a ‘recognizance mission’ as often awareness of science is not part of our usual, daily routine. Consider the following branches of science which are more than likely to have an impact on your daily life:
Ecology - the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment.
Geology - the study of the Earth and what its composition.
Meteorology - the study of the atmosphere, weather, and climate.
- Zoology - the study of animal life.
- Human Biology - the study of the human organism.
- Botany - the study of plants.
- Physics - the study of matter, energy, motion, and force.
- Chemistry - the study of matter, its properties, and interactions with other matter.
- Astronomy - the study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.
- Choose one (or two if necessary) on which to focus your visual essay. This will be the theme and will help organize what type of objects you should attempt to find.
- Step 2:
- With a camera/cell phone/sketchbook, record five to eight examples of science in action found within your community. Remember that the examples should represent, or be examples of science that align with your chosen theme. When selecting examples, consider:
recognizability as an object/example of science, on its own or in context with other objects in your visual essay;
theme (Is there a particular material, colour, mood, topic, concept that will ‘tie’ the images together? Think of each image as a paragraph in an essay - each must build and support the other for a cohesive whole.);
cultural context or personal context - does the example represent something to the community, or is it something more personal, and thus has meaning specific to you; and
whether the example supports the message that you want to convey to your audience.
- Step 3:
- Deconstruct the examples (individually or collectively) by seeking answers to the meaning(s) within them. Here are some relevant questions:
- In what context do these examples represent a scientific truth, and if so, which truth is it?
- Further to the previous question, is it a truth that you support, or not?
Is the scientific truth observable, or must viewers extrapolate the message for themselves; or with your guidance?
Do these examples represent a paradigm shift?
Do the examples support a particular type of knowing?
- Further to the previous question, are there limits to the knowing?
- For your community, what do these examples represent - explicitly and implicitly?
- How do these examples, individually, or as a collected statement, influence your understanding of yourself, how you ‘fit’ into the world, or the perspective from which you view the world?
- What perspective or worldview is necessary to fully understand the meaning of these examples and the scientific truths they represent? In addition, how would their meaning be effectively conveyed to those who are not connected to the same/similar perspective or worldview?
- Could your experience or interpretation of these examples be wrong? Explain how your own worldview may be a factor in your understanding of them.
- Step 4:
- Compile your images/examples and deconstruction into a visual essay, such as a photo essay or a presentation format.https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Visual-Essay
- Provide an explanation (either in written form or more preferably in screencastify verbal format) to accompany your visual essay and to clarify how it demonstrates the presence of the ‘Philosophies of Art’ in your community.