Scientific Problem Solving Method

After the cholera epidemic had subsided, government officials replaced the Broad Street Pump Handle.They had responded only to the urgent threat posed to the population, and afterward they rejected Snow's theory.When a virulent cholera epidemic broke out in London in 1854, Snow investigated.

After the cholera epidemic had subsided, government officials replaced the Broad Street Pump Handle.They had responded only to the urgent threat posed to the population, and afterward they rejected Snow's theory.

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The experiment was to remove the Broad Street pump handle immediately.

If the hypothesis was true this would stop the cholera epidemic. Those who had fled the neighborhood moved back and life soon returned to normal.

Contents Definition Why the Scientific Method is supremely important An example of how scientists use the Scientific Method How problem solvers use the Scientific Method How environmentalism has used the Scientific Method Where environmentalism erred in use of the Scientific Method An alternative paradigm that could possibly work Environmentalism 2.0 "Solution of problems too complicated for common sense to solve is achieved by long strings of mixed inductive and deductive inferences that weave back and forth between the observed machine and the mental hierarchy of the machine found in the manuals. Formulate a hypothesis that explains the phenomenon. There was no concept of rigorous systematic testing of new propositions. Today, any scientist who puts forth a new major hypothesis without first subjecting it to the Scientific Method (theoretically or physically) will not survive as a scientist for long.

The correct program for this interweaving is formalized as Scientific Method." ~ Robert Pirsig, 1974, The Scientific Method 1. There are many versions of what the Scientific Method actually is.

In his later study the data was plotted in the form of a spot map, as shown.

Here in John Snow's own words is the reasoning he went through to develop his hypothesis: On proceeding to the spot, I found that nearly all the deaths had taken place within a short distance of the [Broad Street] pump.There were only ten deaths in houses situated decidedly nearer to another street-pump.In five of these cases the families of the deceased persons informed me that they always sent to the pump in Broad Street, as they preferred the water to that of the pumps which were nearer.Continuing the above quote: I had an interview with the Board of Guardians of St James's parish, on the evening of the 7th inst [Sept 7], and represented the above circumstances to them. Since the epidemic had already started to fade it was not clear if the experiment proved the hypothesis or not: There is no doubt that the mortality was much diminished, as I said before, by the flight of the population, which commenced soon after the outbreak; but the attacks had so far diminished before the use of the water was stopped, that it is impossible to decide whether the well still contained the cholera poison in an active state, or whether, from some cause, the water had become free from it.In consequence of what I said, the handle of the pump was removed on the following day. Diseases which are communicated from person to person are caused by some material which passes from the sick to the healthy, and which has the property of increasing and multiplying in the systems of the persons it attacks.There was no good explanation for the phenomenon of cholera at the time, which had a mortality rate of about 50%.Snow's scientific approach to solving the cause of cholera problem is one of the great classics of science.For scientists working on fundamental cause-and-effect problems, the problem is "What is the cause of a particular effect?" For problem solvers in general we must restate how the Scientific Method is used, since its application is not that obvious.The Miasmatic position was that diseases were the product of environmental factors such as contaminated water, foul air, and poor hygienic conditions.Such infection was not passed between individuals but would affect individuals who resided within the particular locale that gave rise to such vapors. There was no proof miasma theory was true so Snow rejected the theory and sought to find a proper one.