Scientific State of Mind

words by Greg Crowther;
music by Greg Crowther and David Newman

This song was written for the songwriting contest associated with the 2012 USA Science & Engineering Festival.

The earth goes 'round the sun, but can you prove it?
This desk has chewing gum; what will remove it?

I don't know, but I have a guess,
And I'll test my hypothesis....

Life can be confusing; science makes it clearer.
When you're seeking answers, science brings them nearer.
You don't need a lab coat or big goggles all the time;
Just get into the data and into a scientific state of mind.

My bike may start to rust; can I prevent that?
Our bones need phosphorus; how do we get that?

I don't know, but I have a guess,
And I'll test my hypothesis....

Life can be confusing; science makes it clearer,
Like looking through a telescope or looking in a mirror.
You have lots of questions and we don't know what you'll find,
So get into the data and into a scientific state of mind.

I have a mobile phone; does it cause cancer?
Is this a chicken bone ... or something fancier?

I don't know, but I have a guess,
And I'll test my hypothesis....

Life can be confusing; science makes it clearer.
When you're seeking answers, science brings them nearer.
You don't need a lab coat or big goggles all the time;
Just get into the data and into a scientific state of mind.

• MP3 (by David Newman)

• music video (by David Newman)

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) This song attempts to define science via examples of scientific questions. Based on these questions, how would you describe or define science?

(2) What do you think is a "scientific state of mind"?

(3) This song also attempts to define science via examples of things that are NOT required for science. What are these "optional" elements?

(4) Considering the specific content covered by this song, is there anything important that is missing, unclear, or misleading? If so, what?