Transcript The Game of Science

THE GAME OF SCIENCE
David P. Maloney & Mark F. Masters
Adapted by Takoa Lawson for Great Neck North Science Dept.
The Nature of Scientific Investigations
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We can imagine that this complicated array of
moving things which constitutes ‘the universe’ is
something like a great chess game being played,
and we are observers of the game. We do not
know what the rules of the game are; all we are
allowed to do is to watch the playing. Of course, if
we watch long enough, we may eventually catch on
to a few of the rules. The rules of the universe are
what we mean by fundamental physics.
 Richard
Feynman
Thought Experiment

Imagine you were interested in understanding a
game played by two opponents
 If
you couldn’t communicate directly with the players
how would you go about trying to understand the
game?
 What
questions would you ask about the game?
 How could you obtain data or seek answers to your
questions?
 Would you want to collaborate with others?
 Is sharing the result(s) of the process important?
Game Understanding Questions
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How many pieces does each player have?
Are the turns symmetric (that is do the players have similar roles in the
game)?
Do the players take turns?
Do the pieces belong to individual players or are all the pieces
“community” pieces?
What are the starting positions for the pieces?
How do the pieces move?
Do all of the pieces move the same way, or do different pieces have
different move patterns?
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If there are different move patterns, how many are there and what are they?
How does a player win the game?
Can the game end in a draw?
Delta Game Practice Round
Player P Wins
Game Understanding Questions
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How many pieces does each player have?
Are the turns symmetric (that is do the players have similar roles in the
game)?
Do the players take turns?
Do the pieces belong to individual players or are all the pieces
“community” pieces?
What are the starting positions for the pieces?
How do the pieces move?
Do all of the pieces move the same way, or do different pieces have
different move patterns?
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If there are different move patterns, how many are there and what are they?
How does a player win the game?
Can the game end in a draw?
Game Play Conclusions (Theories)
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The starting position theory
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The legal moves theory
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The winning theory
Gamma Game Round 1
Player Brown Wins
Gamma Game Round 2
Player Brown Wins
Gamma Game Round 3
Player Brown Wins
Understanding the Universe

The basic processes and reasoning behind easily
observed phenomenon
 Describe
the processes and reasoning behind
complicated or difficult to observe phenomenon
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Develop the skills and knowledge to participate
readily and fully
 Recognizing
advantages, risks, and costs of knowledge
and technology
The “Games” in Physics
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A fundamental
component of science
is asking questions
skillfully and making
extremely careful
observations
Questions we want to
ask about our universe
pertain to the
following topics
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Light
Energy
Mechanics
Electricity
Electromagnetism
Waves
Thermal Physics
Electronics
Atomic Physics
The Scientific Method

Our agreed upon strategy to better understand the
games the universe is playing
The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method