“Indelible note: observation
As the first step to gain information,
To give close attention.
Steps t’ward comprehension
Can follow from next contemplations.”
The 4 April 2023 limerick noted another popular theme seen often on this site: the importance of observation as a first step in the scientific method, as well as in analyses across several disciplines.
“Indelible note: observation /
As the first step to gain information, /
To give close attention.”
This and the 5 April 2023 poem, which I’ll revisit next week, found their inspiration in some of my most vivid memories of learning STEM concepts prior to college.
I was fortunate to work with several outstanding science and math teachers during middle and high school. One of these science teachers asked for the definition of observation as a bonus question on every exam, defining observation in that instance as “noticing or paying close attention to your surroundings in order to gain information.” That consistent focus made it into this poem, albeit slightly reworded, as my indelible memory of one way to characterize the first step of the scientific method.
In the decades since, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with a local art museum, which extends the importance of observation to multiple disciplinary fields; I’ve also appreciated their succinct and effective discussion of observation as “careful noticing.”
“Steps t’ward comprehension /
Can follow from next contemplations.”
A “flow chart” depiction of the scientific method generally leads from observation to a question, from a question to a hypothesis, from a hypothesis to the experiment that can test that potential answer, and so on. As is likely obvious, science in practice is more complex than that methodical and neatly contained set of steps.
However, observation is undeniably a key, initial step in analytical or creative techniques across multiple disciplines; moreover, reflection on observations can provide “steps towards comprehension” or insights, in multiple disciplines.
Chemphasis 