The study of phenomena that can be directly observed with the naked eye or ordinary instruments—the sciences of the manifest world. Visible sciences include classical physics (falling apples, rolling balls), macroscopic biology (plants growing, animals moving), and most of chemistry as practiced in high school labs (color changes, precipitates, exciting explosions). These sciences are accessible, intuitive, and form the foundation of our understanding of reality. They're also increasingly a small slice of what science actually studies—most of reality is invisible, and visible sciences now serve mainly as entry points to deeper, less visible truths. Visible sciences are what your grandmother thinks science is; invisible sciences are what scientists actually do.
Example: "He loved visible sciences because he could see what was happening—balls rolling down inclined planes, chemicals changing color, plants growing toward light. When he got to quantum mechanics, he struggled because nothing was visible anymore. He missed the simple days when science looked like science."
by Dumu The Void February 16, 2026
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