Mythbusters embodied the scientific method, but I do wish they’d stopped to actually properly explain it at some point. “Writing it down” is definitely part of the process, but it’s not the whole process. The whole process is what they actually did in most of their episodes:
- Make a prediction
- Design an experiment to test that prediction
- Run the experiment and observe the results
- Come up with a conclusion
Sometimes they played fast and loose with some of these steps to make entertaining TV. But, fundamentally, they were doing science.
Screwing around still covers parts 1-3 though. You say something stupid (hypothesis), your friend dares you to do it (experimentation planning), and you do it (experiment).
You say something stupid (hypothesis), your friend dares you to do it
What’s the hypothesis there?
“I’m going to piss on that window.” doesn’t involve a testable hypothesis.
