I think I would define the experiment as well thought out, rather than successful.
One aspect of a well-thought out experiment is that in minimizes risk. So, Trinity happened in the desert, and not, say, Manhattan. And your hostel experiment happened in Boston, where you had a good back-up plan if it failed, and not, say, in Chicago.
A successful experiment proves the hypothesis. That's usually how the word is used by scientists... although occasionally they mean that the experiment disproved the hypothesis in a really interesting way that could, possibly, lead to an even more interesting hypothesis (like the experiment to determine the speed of ether that Einstein used as the basis of the theory of relativity.)
I don't think this situation fulfills either qualification for success (unless you think the insights into why it didn't work were particularly valuable). But you did accomplish something by running the experiment.
You might say it's a successful use of the scientific method (where, in this case, successful means effective, or life-enhancing) but not a successful experiment.
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Date: 2006-02-20 03:26 pm (UTC)One aspect of a well-thought out experiment is that in minimizes risk. So, Trinity happened in the desert, and not, say, Manhattan. And your hostel experiment happened in Boston, where you had a good back-up plan if it failed, and not, say, in Chicago.
A successful experiment proves the hypothesis. That's usually how the word is used by scientists... although occasionally they mean that the experiment disproved the hypothesis in a really interesting way that could, possibly, lead to an even more interesting hypothesis (like the experiment to determine the speed of ether that Einstein used as the basis of the theory of relativity.)
I don't think this situation fulfills either qualification for success (unless you think the insights into why it didn't work were particularly valuable). But you did accomplish something by running the experiment.
You might say it's a successful use of the scientific method (where, in this case, successful means effective, or life-enhancing) but not a successful experiment.
Kiralee