"How Do We Know What
The overarching question, How do we know what we know? is vital to being a critical thinker, citizen, and scientist. It is a particularly important "lens" to use today when we are awash in information from a virtually unlimited variety of sources. Scientists rely on evidence (data from their own and others' observations and investigations) to construct explanations and answer their questions. A good scientist respects evidence and is willing to change his or her ideas, predictions, theories, and explanations if new information is inconsistent or contradictory.