similar.squirrel said:
Anyway. My girlfriend takes the XKCD stance, whereby she claims that mathematics and physics are the only 'true' sciences, and that all aspects of biology are more akin to an art. Strangely, she seems to think that genetics is exempt, but things like ecology and taxonomy definitely do not fall within the realm of science.
Disclaimer: I can - sort of - see where she's coming from. At the same time, I think she's wrong.
The scientific method is very nearly the "truest" definition of science I can think of. You control all inputs in an experiment, you change a single factor, you watch what happens. No matter what subject you use the scientific method in, if you use it, you are performing science.
What do mathematics, physics, and genetics have in common? You can control all of the inputs, without question. When you can't control the inputs, you're basically playing a numbers game; hoping that the change in a single variable, even if the others aren't controlled, will be significant enough to produce a statistically significant result.
Statistics is very messy. I completely understand how purists would be inclined to be skeptical of any statistical evidence. That said, it's pretty much all we've got right now. To ignore or discredit the "soft sciences" - sciences that rely on statistical and circumstantial evidence to show relationships and test hypotheses - because the inputs cannot be controlled with certainty is to completely ignore how the world works when it isn't on paper; it is a huge disservice to oneself and society.
Do I think that Biology is literally a science? No. Do I think that it should be regarded, treated, and called a science? Yes. Words are words. After studying Biology, I've gotten a better sense of how meaningless the legal terms and verbiage we use actually are in reality. Words are means to an end, and given how broken and messy our language is, I think discrediting a subject due to a verbal technicality would be extraordinarily stupid.
(To be clear, I don't think you are discrediting Biology by asking this question.)