Preface ........................................................ ix
1. Prelude ..................................................... 1
2. The Scientific Method ....................................... 3
2.1. Edwin Smith papyrus ................................... 3
2.2. Greek philosophy (4th century ВС) ..................... 4
2.3. Islamic philosophy (8th century AD-15th century AD) ... 6
2.4. European Science (12th century AD-16th century AD) .... 7
2.5. Scientific Revolution (1543 AD-18th century AD) ....... 9
2.6. Humanism and Empiricism .............................. 13
2.7. The Scientific Method ................................ 15
2.8. Application of the Scientific Method to Everyday
Problem .............................................. 16
3. Observation ................................................ 17
3.1. External information ................................. 21
3.1.1. Missed information ........................... 21
3.1.2. Misinformation ............................... 22
3.1.3. Hidden information ........................... 27
3.1.4. No information ............................... 32
3.1.5. Unaware information .......................... 35
3.1.6. Evidence-based information ................... 37
3.2. Internal information ................................. 37
3.2.1. Self-denied information ...................... 38
3.2.2. Biased information ........................... 39
3.2.3. Unexploited information ...................... 40
3.2.4. Peripheral information ....................... 42
4. Hypothesis ................................................. 45
4.1. Abduction ............................................ 55
4.2. Wild conjectures ..................................... 57
4.3. Albert Einstein ...................................... 61
5. Experiment ................................................. 65
5.1. Experiment versus hypothesis ......................... 79
5.2. Platonic, Aristotelian, Baconian, and Galilean
methodology .......................................... 81
6. Recognition ................................................ 83
6.1. John Nash ............................................ 92
7. Problem Situation and Problem Definition ................... 97
7.1. Perspectives on different levels ..................... 97
7.2. Perspectives on the same level ....................... 98
8. Induction and Deduction ................................... 107
8.1. Induction ........................................... 107
8.2. Deduction ........................................... 110
9. Alternative Solutions ..................................... 119
9.1. Lotion bottle with a pump dispenser ................. 137
10. Relation .................................................. 139
10.1. Creativity .......................................... 149
10.1.1. Ordinary thinking ........................... 150
10.1.2. Creative thinking ........................... 151
10.1.2.1. Knowledge ......................... 151
10.1.2.2. Insight ........................... 152
10.1.2.3. Unconscious mind .................. 153
10.1.3. Double helix ................................ 154
10.1.3.1. Genetic material .................. 154
10.1.3.2. Watson and Crick at Cavendish
Laboratory, Cambridge ............. 155
10.1.3.3. Rosalind Franklin at King's
College, London ................... 158
10.1.3.4. The triple helix model ............ 159
10.1.3.5. The double helix model ............ 161
10.1.4. Creative thinking and Ordinary thinking ..... 164
10.2. Scientific Research and Scientific Method ........... 165
10.3. Can we be more creative? ............................ 166
11. Mathematics ............................................... 169
12. Probable Value ............................................ 195
13. Epilogue .................................................. 209
Bibliography .................................................. 213
Index ......................................................... 219
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