To learn to think like an organic chemist, you must first know how an organic chemist thinks. The following three points are an overview of their thought processes. (1) Organic chemists learn the facts. (2) They use these facts to construct concepts by organizing the facts into a coherent picture. (3) As organic chemists learn new facts, they update their picture of concepts.
From the scientific viewpoint, facts are important because facts are the basis of science. A fact is an observation based on experimentation. Scientists, and that includes organic chemists, form
From the scientific viewpoint, facts are important because facts are the basis of science. A fact is an observation based on experimentation. Scientists, and that includes organic chemists, form
their hypotheses based on the facts that they know about a certain topic. They make a speculation based on the hypothesis and do some experiments based on that speculation. These experiments lead to new facts, which lead to an updated hypothesis and further speculation and more experiments. Thus, the whole process in all sciences is designed to produce a coherent but expanding understanding of the universe.
Facts alone are not important to organic chemists. What is important is the way those facts fit together to form a coherent picture. Most organic chemists can produce an amazing variety of facts within the context of a particular concept. However, if asked to provide a list of the facts of organic chemistry, an organic chemist would probably be unable to produce a very impressive list. On the other hand, many beginning organic chemistry students can produce an amazing variety of facts on demand, but have little idea how they fit into a clear picture. A part of thinking like an organic chemist is to learn as many facts as you can about organic chemistry and, at the same time, to continually organize those facts in a way that allows you to synthesize new ideas. This method of learning can help you better understand and use the facts.
The important part of learning organic chemistry is the concepts you construct from the set of facts that you learn. Chemistry is, above all, a science. As a science, the only way to learn anything meaningful about organic chemistry is to work with the concepts. These concepts are not inviolable. They are subject to constant reconstruction and reinterpretation as you learn new facts. The authors of this book and your lecturer can only present the facts and provide you with the vehicle from which you can build your own understanding.
Facts alone are not important to organic chemists. What is important is the way those facts fit together to form a coherent picture. Most organic chemists can produce an amazing variety of facts within the context of a particular concept. However, if asked to provide a list of the facts of organic chemistry, an organic chemist would probably be unable to produce a very impressive list. On the other hand, many beginning organic chemistry students can produce an amazing variety of facts on demand, but have little idea how they fit into a clear picture. A part of thinking like an organic chemist is to learn as many facts as you can about organic chemistry and, at the same time, to continually organize those facts in a way that allows you to synthesize new ideas. This method of learning can help you better understand and use the facts.
The important part of learning organic chemistry is the concepts you construct from the set of facts that you learn. Chemistry is, above all, a science. As a science, the only way to learn anything meaningful about organic chemistry is to work with the concepts. These concepts are not inviolable. They are subject to constant reconstruction and reinterpretation as you learn new facts. The authors of this book and your lecturer can only present the facts and provide you with the vehicle from which you can build your own understanding.
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