In this section, we've seen that, though hard to define concisely, science has a handful of key features that set it apart from other areas of human knowledge. However, the net cast by science is wide. The Science Checklist matches up to a diverse set of human endeavors - from uncovering the fundamental particles of the universe, to studying the mating behavior of lobsters, to investigating the effects of different economic policies. We've also seen that science has limits: some questions that are an important part of the human experience are not answerable within the context of science.

So science isn't everything, but it is important. Science helps us construct knowledge about the natural world - knowledge that can then be harnessed to improve our lives and solve problems. How does science do it? To find out, read on ...