I believe observing means simply that you are watching something extremely close, whether it be for for an experiment or just personal choice. You can use glasses, telescopes, and microscopes to help see the object better. Observing and looking are different, because when you are observing you are studying every move of the object when you are looking at it you aren't studying every move you are just causally looking at the object.
Will, I like your definition for observing and looking. It helped me think of how I wanted to attempt to explain the two terms and I like yours better. You win, here's a cookie. (Hands Will cookie, Will eats cookie, Will likes cookie).
Will, I feel like you are not taking into consideration the actually relationship between looking and observing. If you are looking at something you are always observing it. I do not think you have ever had a time where you have viewed something and not made any thoughts about it. When you make any conclusion about something you are looking at it becomes an observation.
When someone observes something they are studying an object closely for some purpose. I believe observing means you are attempting to make sense out of something and learn from the experience. You may take notes or pictures to study it later. You can use glasses, telescopes, microscopes and other tools to get a better look at an object while you are observing it. I think looking at something means you are simply seeing something for the sake of laying your eyes on it. Maybe a way to distinguish the two would be to put yourself behind the wheel of a car. You may LOOK at the car in front of you and see that it is red but you OBSERVE that it is moving at a certain speed so you don't drive too fast and run into it.
I think your example with the car is very useful. I feel as if when you are observing you are taking time to understand what is happening or why it is happening, further putting it in perspective. It goes beyond looking and just being able to identify certain characteristics of a concept.
Nate i really like how you used the car example to differentiate looking verse observing. I like to think of observing is intentionally looking at something. We randomly look at things all the time but that does't mean we are recording in the information. The point of observing is to record the information.
Observing something means to attentively watch something for a period of time. You could use anything you wanted to observe an object. You could wear glasses, a telescope, or a microscope. You would know what to look at or observe from whatever experiment you are trying to conduct. In an observation you are trying to obtain data and make sense of something. When you observe, you notice what is going on. When you just look at something, you aren't really paying attention to the detail and specifics.
Like several people already said, when you're observing an object you are studying certain properties of that object or how it may change. The data collection from observing something could be to help prove some sort of theory or you could be trying to obtain enough data to make a calculation of some sort. I think, depending on what you're observing that it's important to use the tools available to help because they will allow you to make more precise observations. For example, someone can't really observe the stars very carefully without the use of a telescope. In order to observe something, you have to look at it. I think that observation itself implies that you're looking at something but to look at something doesn't necessarily mean you're observing it.
Catie, you make a solid point about using proper equipment to observe different things. One couldn't use a microscope to have a better understanding of space, just as someone with bad vision couldn't read or observe a sign without wearing glasses.
Observation to me simply means watching the space around you. This observation could definitely be scientific but in all reality it could be something done in everyday life. Making a hypothesis and observing scientific research can use glasses, telescopes, and microscopes. Many fields of science use these tools for observations in finding out solutions to their hypothesis. Knowing what to look at comes with the topic you are looking for. A scientist studying physics would look for physics related topics and observe items related to physics. A scientist studying biology, in particular animal science, they would study animal behavior and the genetics of the animal. They could observe the makeup of the animal and the behavior over a period of time. Looking means simply finding the observations according to the field desired. Looking to me means finding research on a topic and furthering my knowledge about that topic. Observing and looking are about the same concept to me with observing being more scientific and looking being a more general term that is thrown around in everyday life.
I like how in your definition you explain how an observation is not always just scientific. In reality, all we do each day is observe. We watch our teachers teach classes, athletes observe coaches and more. Without observing we cannot complete our everyday duties. We learn from these observations as well. The more we observe the better conclusion we can make for the questions they leave each day.
Observation takes all of your senses in to account. Now, with that being said, sometimes you can't use some senses to observe something. For example, you can not taste HCl to observe it, your intestines would be eaten up. With observations, you must also use your brain to start concluding your thoughts. The 2 questions that observation should account for are, (1) What is it that I am observing? What am I tasting, smelling, hearing, touching, or seeing. If it is yellow and looks like a banana, then it probably is a banana. This first thought is important because to observe, you must know what you are observing. (2) Why am I observing this? The bigger question is, why is this observation going to help with my conclusion? The whole purpose of observation is to conclude. So, since I have the observations that this object is yellow and smells like a banana, my conclusion is that the object is a banana. Now, you must know some on the subject that you are observing. If I look at the sky and observe Orian's belt, but I don't know what it looks like, how am I going to observe it. Observation takes some sort of study before it is done. Now, with the banana example, that would not take much studying. Now, looking is much different than observing.I believe that looking is seeing. I do not believe that you have to look to observe and I do not believe that you have to observe to look at something. Imagine someone being blindfolded. They can still observe the air around them, they can smell and touch. There, the person is not looking, but only observing. Now if someone is daydreaming, and they look at someone while doing it, you are observing what is in your head. So, there we see an example where someone is looking, but not observing. Observation can use tools to increase the depth of the observation, but do not need to use tools.
I agree with your two questions of observation. Observation is looking to explain a theory or come to a conclusion. I find it very interesting that you included the idea of being blindfolded. When you think of observation you think of someone looking at and studying, but I guess other observations can be made by other senses. But my question is, can this be a complete observation? Which can also relate to the idea of a black hole, that you can only observe empirically as opposed to physically.
I believe that we can fully observe without sight. For instance, many animals can feel their surroundings by touching the space, smelling, etc. You can be upstairs in your room and smell and hear popcorn popping. This comes to the conclusion that popcorn is being made. With your definition of observation, we can fully observe something without sight. I believe that the whole world is an empirical observation. How do we know what is illusion and what is not? Nobody can answer these questions.
To observe something, you must take into account size, smell, shape, color, sound and feel of the object being observed. We observe things to have a greater understanding of whatever it is we are observing. Black holes, for example, were discovered by observing irregular forces of gravity around a focal point in space. Scientists used the information the observed to determine the existence of black holes. However, It is not enough though to just look at something. To fully observe an object or phenomena, you must record everything that happens, or didn't happen, during observation. This is the difference between looking and observing. We "look" at things everyday, but don't fully observe and retain the information we obtain from looking.
The point of just looking and actually making an observation is something I did not think of. I agree that observing is more technical and involves processing the information rather than just seeing it. Observation leads to theories.
When observing, you are using your senses to further understand a concept, idea, or object and why it is happening or what it is. You can use observation to further support or reject a theory or experiment. As stated today, in Dr. Ryle's lecture, observation can be done empirically or physically, with neither being more correct or profound. Some objects just can't be observed up close, such as stars or blackholes, due to restrictions and limitations. Observation can be done better through the use of specific tools such as microscopes, telescopes, or even glasses to see thing the human eye isn't able to observe on it's own. In fact, I feel as if "looking" is only glancing at something or seeing something, but "observing" is working your way to a better understanding. You are observing for a purpose, to explore an idea, you may only be looking because it is in your path.
I think that observing means watching an object or event and paying special attention to details and changes. In scientific experiments changes in observations are recorded and studied in order to determine the causes of those changes. In class, Dr. Cate asked about using aids for observation such as glasses or microscopes and telescopes. This is an interesting thought because those instruments could distort our vision and affect the way that we see things. However, I think that all of these inventions have greatly improved our scientific abilities and without them our society would not be as technologically advanced as it is. In my opinion, it shouldn't matter how things are observed, as long as the experiments can be repeated and observed in the same way. For example, someone who wears glasses can describe the things that they observe and someone who has perfect vision should observe the same things in the same way. As a counter-example, someone who is under the influence of drugs will most likely see things differently than someone else even if they are both on the same drug, so this would not be a valid form of observation because the changes in observation are caused by an outside factor not related to what is being observed.
The idea of being under the influence of drugs while making an observation is definitely an interesting factor which plays a role in many court cases today.
The definition of observe to me is to view and collect research on the thing, event, or process you may be watching. When you observe and collect your research you do not necessarily have to right things down but you are researching in your mind. Also it does not only include your sight but involves al the other senses as well. Every time you view something the goal is to learn a new fact that you did not see before. As you observe you even may come across new thing that you will add to your next observation. Depending on what your looking at may decide any devices that you may need to help see certain things. For instance, you would need a telescope to observe anything in space. In another situation, if something is too small to see with the naked eye a magnifying glass or probe may be more appropriate. The concept of "looking" is more complex than it seems. Half the time when we refer to the word look we are mean to actually hold something. This ideal is simply dependent on the situation at hand.
In my opinion observation does not take into consideration all senses. When I use the word observation it is in the context of seeing or in some cases hearing something. Just as a doctor observes their patient, they use tools (mostly vision) to look at things and take note of these sights. I consider vision as being a tool because it is something used to help one understand an object or situation. Glasses, telescopes, and microscopes are also tools which help by increasing your vision, therefore allowing you to better understand something. The purpose of these tools are to magnify things or clear our vision therefore we know to look for anything out of ordinary from the regular things we see. The meaning of looking and observing are the same in this case because they are both considered tools (involving vision) used to comprehend information.
In my opinion, observation has to deal with examining something closely and gathering information about it that allows you to do further research on whatever you may be examining. I also believe that when you observe something you should use glasses, telescopes, or microscopes because it helps you get a closer observation and you may be able to gather information that you couldn't have gathered before. Observation and looking are two totally different things. When someone is looking at something they are just getting a quick glance at it and will move on. When someone observes something, they actually take the time to look at whatever they are looking at in depth. They might ask questions to gain further knowledge about whatever they are observing.
Observation is a very ambiguous term in my opinion. Just because you may not realize it you are observing something whether it has nothing to do with what you are looking at/for. As for taking it as a science term, i see it as intentionally using various techniques to have a closer look at something that someone is trying to test, prove, disprove etc. This can be anything from testing a certain reaction to just watching how a species courts their mate. Its a very open term.
I believe observing means simply that you are watching something extremely close, whether it be for for an experiment or just personal choice. You can use glasses, telescopes, and microscopes to help see the object better. Observing and looking are different, because when you are observing you are studying every move of the object when you are looking at it you aren't studying every move you are just causally looking at the object.
ReplyDeleteWill, I like your definition for observing and looking. It helped me think of how I wanted to attempt to explain the two terms and I like yours better. You win, here's a cookie. (Hands Will cookie, Will eats cookie, Will likes cookie).
DeleteNate you can take that cookie and go to hell. (Nate takes cookie and goes str8 to hell)
DeleteWill, I feel like you are not taking into consideration the actually relationship between looking and observing. If you are looking at something you are always observing it. I do not think you have ever had a time where you have viewed something and not made any thoughts about it. When you make any conclusion about something you are looking at it becomes an observation.
DeleteWhen someone observes something they are studying an object closely for some purpose. I believe observing means you are attempting to make sense out of something and learn from the experience. You may take notes or pictures to study it later. You can use glasses, telescopes, microscopes and other tools to get a better look at an object while you are observing it. I think looking at something means you are simply seeing something for the sake of laying your eyes on it. Maybe a way to distinguish the two would be to put yourself behind the wheel of a car. You may LOOK at the car in front of you and see that it is red but you OBSERVE that it is moving at a certain speed so you don't drive too fast and run into it.
ReplyDeleteI think your example with the car is very useful. I feel as if when you are observing you are taking time to understand what is happening or why it is happening, further putting it in perspective. It goes beyond looking and just being able to identify certain characteristics of a concept.
DeleteNate i really like how you used the car example to differentiate looking verse observing. I like to think of observing is intentionally looking at something. We randomly look at things all the time but that does't mean we are recording in the information. The point of observing is to record the information.
DeleteObserving something means to attentively watch something for a period of time. You could use anything you wanted to observe an object. You could wear glasses, a telescope, or a microscope. You would know what to look at or observe from whatever experiment you are trying to conduct. In an observation you are trying to obtain data and make sense of something. When you observe, you notice what is going on. When you just look at something, you aren't really paying attention to the detail and specifics.
ReplyDeleteLike several people already said, when you're observing an object you are studying certain properties of that object or how it may change. The data collection from observing something could be to help prove some sort of theory or you could be trying to obtain enough data to make a calculation of some sort. I think, depending on what you're observing that it's important to use the tools available to help because they will allow you to make more precise observations. For example, someone can't really observe the stars very carefully without the use of a telescope. In order to observe something, you have to look at it. I think that observation itself implies that you're looking at something but to look at something doesn't necessarily mean you're observing it.
ReplyDeleteCatie, you make a solid point about using proper equipment to observe different things. One couldn't use a microscope to have a better understanding of space, just as someone with bad vision couldn't read or observe a sign without wearing glasses.
DeleteObservation to me simply means watching the space around you. This observation could definitely be scientific but in all reality it could be something done in everyday life. Making a hypothesis and observing scientific research can use glasses, telescopes, and microscopes. Many fields of science use these tools for observations in finding out solutions to their hypothesis. Knowing what to look at comes with the topic you are looking for. A scientist studying physics would look for physics related topics and observe items related to physics. A scientist studying biology, in particular animal science, they would study animal behavior and the genetics of the animal. They could observe the makeup of the animal and the behavior over a period of time. Looking means simply finding the observations according to the field desired. Looking to me means finding research on a topic and furthering my knowledge about that topic. Observing and looking are about the same concept to me with observing being more scientific and looking being a more general term that is thrown around in everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI like how in your definition you explain how an observation is not always just scientific. In reality, all we do each day is observe. We watch our teachers teach classes, athletes observe coaches and more. Without observing we cannot complete our everyday duties. We learn from these observations as well. The more we observe the better conclusion we can make for the questions they leave each day.
DeleteObservation takes all of your senses in to account. Now, with that being said, sometimes you can't use some senses to observe something. For example, you can not taste HCl to observe it, your intestines would be eaten up. With observations, you must also use your brain to start concluding your thoughts. The 2 questions that observation should account for are, (1) What is it that I am observing? What am I tasting, smelling, hearing, touching, or seeing. If it is yellow and looks like a banana, then it probably is a banana. This first thought is important because to observe, you must know what you are observing. (2) Why am I observing this? The bigger question is, why is this observation going to help with my conclusion? The whole purpose of observation is to conclude. So, since I have the observations that this object is yellow and smells like a banana, my conclusion is that the object is a banana. Now, you must know some on the subject that you are observing. If I look at the sky and observe Orian's belt, but I don't know what it looks like, how am I going to observe it. Observation takes some sort of study before it is done. Now, with the banana example, that would not take much studying. Now, looking is much different than observing.I believe that looking is seeing. I do not believe that you have to look to observe and I do not believe that you have to observe to look at something. Imagine someone being blindfolded. They can still observe the air around them, they can smell and touch. There, the person is not looking, but only observing. Now if someone is daydreaming, and they look at someone while doing it, you are observing what is in your head. So, there we see an example where someone is looking, but not observing. Observation can use tools to increase the depth of the observation, but do not need to use tools.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your two questions of observation. Observation is looking to explain a theory or come to a conclusion. I find it very interesting that you included the idea of being blindfolded. When you think of observation you think of someone looking at and studying, but I guess other observations can be made by other senses. But my question is, can this be a complete observation? Which can also relate to the idea of a black hole, that you can only observe empirically as opposed to physically.
DeleteI believe that we can fully observe without sight. For instance, many animals can feel their surroundings by touching the space, smelling, etc. You can be upstairs in your room and smell and hear popcorn popping. This comes to the conclusion that popcorn is being made. With your definition of observation, we can fully observe something without sight. I believe that the whole world is an empirical observation. How do we know what is illusion and what is not? Nobody can answer these questions.
DeleteTo observe something, you must take into account size, smell, shape, color, sound and feel of the object being observed. We observe things to have a greater understanding of whatever it is we are observing. Black holes, for example, were discovered by observing irregular forces of gravity around a focal point in space. Scientists used the information the observed to determine the existence of black holes. However, It is not enough though to just look at something. To fully observe an object or phenomena, you must record everything that happens, or didn't happen, during observation. This is the difference between looking and observing. We "look" at things everyday, but don't fully observe and retain the information we obtain from looking.
ReplyDeleteThe point of just looking and actually making an observation is something I did not think of. I agree that observing is more technical and involves processing the information rather than just seeing it. Observation leads to theories.
DeleteWhen observing, you are using your senses to further understand a concept, idea, or object and why it is happening or what it is. You can use observation to further support or reject a theory or experiment. As stated today, in Dr. Ryle's lecture, observation can be done empirically or physically, with neither being more correct or profound. Some objects just can't be observed up close, such as stars or blackholes, due to restrictions and limitations. Observation can be done better through the use of specific tools such as microscopes, telescopes, or even glasses to see thing the human eye isn't able to observe on it's own. In fact, I feel as if "looking" is only glancing at something or seeing something, but "observing" is working your way to a better understanding. You are observing for a purpose, to explore an idea, you may only be looking because it is in your path.
ReplyDeleteI think that observing means watching an object or event and paying special attention to details and changes. In scientific experiments changes in observations are recorded and studied in order to determine the causes of those changes. In class, Dr. Cate asked about using aids for observation such as glasses or microscopes and telescopes. This is an interesting thought because those instruments could distort our vision and affect the way that we see things. However, I think that all of these inventions have greatly improved our scientific abilities and without them our society would not be as technologically advanced as it is. In my opinion, it shouldn't matter how things are observed, as long as the experiments can be repeated and observed in the same way. For example, someone who wears glasses can describe the things that they observe and someone who has perfect vision should observe the same things in the same way. As a counter-example, someone who is under the influence of drugs will most likely see things differently than someone else even if they are both on the same drug, so this would not be a valid form of observation because the changes in observation are caused by an outside factor not related to what is being observed.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of being under the influence of drugs while making an observation is definitely an interesting factor which plays a role in many court cases today.
DeleteThe definition of observe to me is to view and collect research on the thing, event, or process you may be watching. When you observe and collect your research you do not necessarily have to right things down but you are researching in your mind. Also it does not only include your sight but involves al the other senses as well. Every time you view something the goal is to learn a new fact that you did not see before. As you observe you even may come across new thing that you will add to your next observation. Depending on what your looking at may decide any devices that you may need to help see certain things. For instance, you would need a telescope to observe anything in space. In another situation, if something is too small to see with the naked eye a magnifying glass or probe may be more appropriate. The concept of "looking" is more complex than it seems. Half the time when we refer to the word look we are mean to actually hold something. This ideal is simply dependent on the situation at hand.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion observation does not take into consideration all senses. When I use the word observation it is in the context of seeing or in some cases hearing something. Just as a doctor observes their patient, they use tools (mostly vision) to look at things and take note of these sights. I consider vision as being a tool because it is something used to help one understand an object or situation. Glasses, telescopes, and microscopes are also tools which help by increasing your vision, therefore allowing you to better understand something. The purpose of these tools are to magnify things or clear our vision therefore we know to look for anything out of ordinary from the regular things we see. The meaning of looking and observing are the same in this case because they are both considered tools (involving vision) used to comprehend information.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, observation has to deal with examining something closely and gathering information about it that allows you to do further research on whatever you may be examining. I also believe that when you observe something you should use glasses, telescopes, or microscopes because it helps you get a closer observation and you may be able to gather information that you couldn't have gathered before. Observation and looking are two totally different things. When someone is looking at something they are just getting a quick glance at it and will move on. When someone observes something, they actually take the time to look at whatever they are looking at in depth. They might ask questions to gain further knowledge about whatever they are observing.
ReplyDeleteObservation is a very ambiguous term in my opinion. Just because you may not realize it you are observing something whether it has nothing to do with what you are looking at/for. As for taking it as a science term, i see it as intentionally using various techniques to have a closer look at something that someone is trying to test, prove, disprove etc. This can be anything from testing a certain reaction to just watching how a species courts their mate. Its a very open term.
ReplyDelete