Science as Storytelling

Authors

David A. Grandy
Barry R. Bickmore

Keywords

Mormon studies, science, storytelling

Abstract

Much if our modern world revolves around something called "science." But what is science? Interestingly, this turns out to be a very difficult question to answer because every definition seems to include something we don't consider science or seems to exclude something we do consider science. In this essay, the authors present their own definition: Science is the modern art of creating stories that explain observations of the natural world and that could be useful for predicting, and possibly even controlling, nature. They then refine this definition by offering seven rules that scientific storytelling must follow to distinguish it from other genres. These rules fall under the following general topics: reproducibility, predictive power, prospects for improvement, naturalism, uniformitarianism, simplicity, and harmony.

Recommended Citation

Grandy, David A. and Bickmore, Barry R. (2014) "Science as Storytelling," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 53: Iss. 4, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol53/iss4/4