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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Observation
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INFOTEXT
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1992-09-01
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In science, the perception of a phenomenon -
for example, examining the Moon through a
telescope, watching mice to discover their
mating habits, or seeing how a plant grows.
Traditionally, observation was seen as
entirely separate from theory, free from
preconceptions and therefore lending support
to the idea of scientific objectivity.
However, as the preceding examples show,
observations are ordered according to a
pre-existing theory; for instance, one cannot
observe mating behaviour without having
decided what mating behaviour might look
like. In addition many observations actually
affect the behaviour of the observed (for
instance, of mating mice).