> Which process has steps that include asking a question, creating a hypothesis,experimenting, analyzing, and drawing a conclusion?And the answer: the scientific method. Frontispiece to Thomas Sprat, The History of the Royal-Society of London,etching by Winceslaus Hollar, after John Evelyn, 1667. Courtesy of Kahn Academy.The scientific method is a way of learning about the world around us, withoutrelying on assumptions. Used across many different fields, the process startswith a question and an observation, and then a hypothesis about what the answermight be, followed by testing and experimenting, and then a conclusion.The scientific method was born many centuries ago, following a period ofrelative cultural and scientific instability. From 500 to 1000 A.D., there was adecline in power of the Roman empire and virtual disappearance of urban life inthe western world. During this time, little scientific advancements were made.It wasn’t until the Renaissance of the 12th century that philosophers andscientists began to reimagine older works and theories. As European scholarsbecame exposed to knowledge and cultures cultivated in the Islamic world andother regions beyond their boundaries, they became reacquainted with the worksof ancient scholars like Aristotle, Ptolemy and Euclid. This provided a commonplatform and vocabulary on which to build an extended scientific community thatcould share ideas and inspire creative problem-solving.Francis Bacon was the first to formalize the scientific method, but not solelyon his own accord. The work of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and GalileoGalilei (1564-1642) influenced Bacon tremendously. Later, Isaac Newton(1642-1727) did much to send the efforts forward by his advancements inmathematics. As a result, modern science began its slow but steady progressionto what we know today.Learn more about the scientific method below.