• Out of Character • [Skill] Science

[Lorogh]

{{#pagetitle:Science}}
=Skill Scale Down 2021=
This skill has been impacted by the Skill Scale Down. The impact of this for this skill is as follows:
* This is a new skill.

* All knowledge for Chemistry, and Physics now counts as Science Knowledge.

* For how to deal with XP, please see the page [[:Category:Skills Scale Down 2021 |Skill Scale Down 2021]] for links, information, and a player guide.

* The scope of this skill includes what was previously covered by Chemistry, and Physics. Please ensure that you take this into account going forward.

=Overview=
Science as a skill defines how one understands and comes to accurate, logical theories about the world around them. It's a broad skill in that there are disparate branches of science. For the main though, Science as a whole boils down to one's ability to understand and come to logical theories about various aspects of reality.

While peer reviewed studies and standardized methods are not quite at the point of ubiquity in Idalos, what remains uniform about science, is a commitment to observable facts, while maintaining an open mind to new information that might disprove old theories and assumptions.

Science does not confer a specific skill set, trade, or craft to the one who practices it. While it can enhance existing fields of understanding, on its own it is used to inform more than guide the development of techniques or skills.

From chemistry (a formal understanding of the principles found not only in alchemy and medicine, but also a variety of other skills and crafts), to Zoology (a formal understanding of animal husbandry and animal training), one might presume there's a degree of overlap between science and many other skills. However where Science stands on its own, is the ability to determine factual information that leads to more consistent understanding of sourced information across many different fields.

==Related Skills==

Alchemy: The scientific understanding of alchemy is sometimes more properly acknowledged as chemistry, as alchemy involves the transference and manipulation of materials. However where science differs here is in the categorization and proper acknowledgment of the factual properties of materials. While alchemy itself is adequate for manipulating those properties from one medium to another, Science allows one to isolate and figure out those properties.

Animal Training and Animal Husbandry: From animal behavior to animal biology, the scientific understanding of these fields is more often referred to as Zoology. Where it differs from the skills themselves lay not in the practice of such, but of the specific understanding. While any Husbandry practitioner of adequate skill can patch up, heal, groom, or determine a proper diet for an animal perfectly well without science, Science informs why this is the case, and can be used to neatly categorize and determine similarities between specimen.

Medicine: The scientific understanding of medicine is more often referred to as physiology. While a skilled medicine practitioner can heal people and perform surgeries well enough on their own, Science allows one to know why medical practices are used, why they work, and further why medicines and procedures work as they do. Where medicine allows one to heal people, science allows one to know and categorize methods for maximum consistency and understanding.

Engineering: The scientific understanding of engineering is more often known as physics. Whereas a skilled engineer can properly operate, assemble, and even figure out machinery, and put together a schematic that produces a workable gadget, science allows one to understand the principles underlying its workings, and guarantee a consistent result for similar machines.

Research: Where research is concerned with asking questions and finding sources, science is concerned with finding answers, and producing the knoweldgable sources that researchers look into..

=Skill Ranks=

==Novice (0-25)==
At this point, common sense and reductive reasoning are the most common methods of finding answers to questions about the world. While these methods of reasoning can lead to accurate conclusions for simple concepts and subjects, and only require a minimum of observable facts to come to conclusions, they often miss key factors that result in an incomplete understanding of the subject matter.

==Competent (26-75)==
Common sense and reductive reasoning give way to deductive reasoning and more pure logical methods here. At this point, the scientist has begun to compare their findings with that of others, and form more accurate theories that produce more or less consistent results and understanding. Success rate of finding the truth of matters is often still low, but with patience one can find very accurate information about the world around them at competence.

==Expert (76-150)==
At this point the scientist can come up with theories and methods for finding the truth right off the cuff, even without taking or comparing notes. Their reductive reasoning has reached a peak at this level, and they're able to determine when more inquiry is required to find the facts of the matter, and what style of reasoning might produce a more consistent and true answer to a problem. Expert scientists are able to neatly and consistently categorize facts and knowledge, and theorize on aspects of reality with good accuracy.

==Master (151-250)==
This is the stage at which a scientist can theorize and neatly compartmentalize facts and knowledge with near perfect efficiency. While they're not entirely accurate all the time, most who are not trained in science will be hard pressed to challenge their well-founded theories and assertions. They've mastered all aspects of reasoning, both reductive, deductive, and beyond. Their common sense is impeccable.

They can reach their conclusions through a matter of moments, collating all their experience in various fields to produce a more complete understanding of reality.

=Progressing Science=
* [[:Category: Science Capstones |Capstones]]
* [[:Category: Science Grandmaster |Grandmasters]]
* [[:Category: Science Tier 2 | Tier 2 PCs]]

= Science Knowledge =
The collapsible below has examples of [[Skill Knowledge]] for this skill. If you are unsure of what Knowledge is, please check the [[:Category: Knowledge | Knowledge Primer]] for details. Please remember that our Peer Reviewers will be checking to make sure that your Knowledge claim is appropriate to what you have learned in the thread and ensuring that you are not duplicating knowledge.
<br><br>
A guide to knowledge can be found [viewtopic.php?f=242&t=7463 here] (this link takes you to the site) and the person reviewing your thread will do so following the steps laid out in the [[Peer Reviewer Guide]]. If you wish to use one of these knowledge in your request, please ensure that it is appropriate to your thread.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:90%; overflow:auto;">
'''Science'''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* Science: Matter can be solid, liquid or gas
* Science: Acid and alkaline
* Science: Testing different chemical reactions with small samples
* Science: Balance and counterbalance

</div></div>

[[Category: Skills]][/sptitle]

[Fate]

Hi Lorogh.

So looking it over it is very good especially since science is such a vague skill really. I only have two thoughts.

The first is a house keeping thing. Taking candle making out of the Skill Scale down section.

The only really thing I have would be rewording sections where it says stuff like "Correct conclusion". I think something like logical theories. Or theories based upon data and facts. Reasonable conclusion. Some scientist in the past and even now have come up with theories that later with new technology or other discoveries, unknown as relevant, have forced a change the original theory. Correct Conclusion just makes it feel wrong.

Overall it is well written though and helps people understand the steps.

Thank you
Fate

[Lorogh]

Heya Fate! I've gone ahead and corrected (hah) those issues as you listed I believe. Thank you so much.

[Jinyel]

Hi there!

This is a concise write up that I think covers a great umbrella with its scope - namely, a clear path for the scientific process to be carried out on Idalos. Since science seems to essentually be defined here as "the skill of correctly discovering new things," it makes sense that the scope is so broad and so interactive with other skills. However, I think it might be a good idea to give hard examples of what conclusions a person may or may not draw with various skills. Perhaps describe how a gardener might apply the science skill in different ways at novice, competent, expert, and master, to paint a solid picture of the physical actions a PC might use in conjunction with the skills they already have. How likely would it be for a person with mastery in both science and gardening to realize that plants 'make air more breathable' aka produce oxygen? Even a single level-by-level example of joint use with another skill might its practical application more clear (at least to me). This article defines a lot of what science could possibly do, but not much about what it cannot do.

It might also be a good idea to describe how exactly a scientist PC could go about sharing their discoveries with the world, if they wish to do so. An engineer who discovers steam power could change Idalos drastically, for instance. Just like high-level necromancers are often pursued by Famula and her followers, perhaps a brief mention of how high-level scientists are treated by their cohorts or potential sponsors for research. High-level scientists, just like high-level artists, might engage with a wealthy sponsor who could change the entire scope of how fast that scientist can work, with how many materials, with what quality equipment.