考研英语作文1900字：Scientific Theories

a useful theory, in addition to eplaining past observations, helps to predict events that have not as yet been observed. after a theory has been publicized, scientists design eperiments to test the theory. if observations confirm the scientists predictions, the theory is supported. if observations do not confirm the predictions, the scientists must search further. there may be a fault in the eperiment, or the theory may have to be revised or rejected.

science involves imagination and creative thinking as well as collecting information and performing eperiments. facts by themselves are not science. as the mathematician jules henri poincare said, science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks, but a collection of facts cannot be called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.

most scientists start an investigation by finding out what other scientists have learned about a particular problem. after known facts have been gathered, the scientist comes to the part of the investigation that requires considerable imagination. possible solutions to the problem are formulated. these possible solutions are called hypotheses.

in a way, any hypothesis is a leap into the unknown. it etends the scientists thinking beyond the known facts. the scientist plans eperiments, performs calculations, and makes observations to test hypotheses. without hypothesis, further investigation lacks purpose and direction. when hypotheses are confirmed, they are incorporated into theories.