experimentation
Systematic trial process
Experimentation is the process of trying things out to see what happens—testing ideas, methods, or substances through trial and observation.
In science, experimentation follows systematic procedures to test hypotheses: The drug underwent years of experimentation before approval.
More broadly, it suggests exploring possibilities without guaranteed outcomes: Her early work shows bold experimentation with form.
The word often implies willingness to risk failure in pursuit of discovery.
Testable proposed explanation
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
- variablesChangeable elements in equations
- controlAuthority to direct
laboratory · procedure · replication · falsifiable · observation · measurement · evidence · inference
Sudden important advance
- serendipityAccidental fortunate discovery
- eurekaDiscovery triumph cry
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
epiphany · finding · uncovering · observation · identification · realization · novelty · phenomenon
Capacity for original thought
- inventionNew device or method
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- originalityNovel creative quality
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
ideation · brainstorming · pioneering · prototyping · iteration · tinkering · improvisation · modification
Confirming truth or accuracy
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- measurementDetermining size or amount
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
benchmarking · sample · instrumentation · results · analysis · statistical · verification · reliability
Judicial examination of claims
- pilotOne who steers aircraft
- placeboInactive therapeutic substitute
- blindLacking the sense of sight
- double-blindNeither tester nor tested knows
randomization · baseline · longitudinal · intervention · consent · placebo-controlled · cohort · dosage
Desire to learn
- unchartedNot yet documented
- frontierEdge of settlement
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- ventureRisky new undertaking
probing · inquiry · investigation · searching · questioning · open-ended · speculative · preliminary
Innovative cultural pioneers
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- mixed-mediaArt combining different materials
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- boundary-pushingExceeding accepted limits
genre-bending · abstract · surrealism · collage · freeform · spontaneity · radical · subversive
hypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
- variablesChangeable elements in equations
control · laboratory · procedure · replication · falsifiable · observation · measurement · evidence · inference · systematic
breakthrough
Sudden important advance
- serendipityAccidental fortunate discovery
- eurekaDiscovery triumph cry
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
revelation · epiphany · finding · uncovering · observation · identification · realization · novelty · phenomenon · anomaly
creativity
Capacity for original thought
- inventionNew device or method
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- originalityNovel creative quality
imagination · ideation · brainstorming · pioneering · prototyping · iteration · tinkering · improvisation · modification · refinement
validation
Confirming truth or accuracy
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- measurementDetermining size or amount
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
accuracy · benchmarking · sample · instrumentation · results · analysis · statistical · verification · reliability · metrics
trial
Judicial examination of claims
double-blind · randomization · baseline · longitudinal · intervention · consent · placebo-controlled · cohort · dosage · efficacy
curiosity
Desire to learn
- unchartedNot yet documented
- frontierEdge of settlement
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
venture · probing · inquiry · investigation · searching · questioning · open-ended · speculative · preliminary · tentative
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- mixed-mediaArt combining different materials
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
boundary-pushing · genre-bending · abstract · surrealism · collage · freeform · spontaneity · radical · subversive · unorthodox
- long wordssupercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism, incomprehensibilities, counterrevolutionary, electroencephalograph
- experimentationtrial run, test run, attempts, guess and check, guesswork
- Modernist PoetryEzra Pound, T.S. Eliot, free verse, The Waste Land, fragmentation
- problem-solvingproblem solving, puzzles, riddles, logic, solutions
- sciencebiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology
- STEMscience, engineering, mathematics, math, technology
experimentationdogma
Unchallengeable official beliefs
blind faith · received wisdom · orthodoxy · faith · assumption
experimentationcaution
Careful attention to risk
conservatism · playing it safe · risk aversion · prudence · certainty
experimentationtradition
Custom passed through generations
conventionality · conformity · convention · stagnation · traditionalism
- animal experimentationScientific trials using fauna
- scientific experimentationSystematic testing of hypotheses
- medical experimentationTesting treatments on subjects
- artistic experimentationTesting novel aesthetic methods