How “what if” questions help

Scientists come up with new “what if” questions all the time. They call them hypotheses (or a hypothesis if you’re talking about just one). A hypothesis is a proposal that helps guide your research. Let’s say your “what if” question is: what if dogs are more intelligent than cats? How would you test your hypothesis?

Essentially, you’ve made an educated guess, based on the existing information you already know. For instance, dogs are better known for performing tricks than cats. You could set up an experiment to test this assumption. If you found that dogs actually are better at tricks than cats, then you could fine tune your hypothesis. What if dogs perform tricks because of their evolutionary history? What if it had something to do with them being pack animals? And what if cats are better than dogs at remembering where items are or solving puzzles?

What if… you had camouflaged skin?

Imagine becoming invisible. One minute everyone could see you, and the next minute your skin changed and you vanished. Lots of animals use camouflage to blend into their surroundings, such as spotty cheetahs. However, several animals such as cuttlefish and chameleons can actually change their appearance to blend in or show their emotion. Colour serves other purposes, too. For example, the dyeing poison dart frog wears bright colours and strong patterns to warn other animals that it’s poisonous. If everyone could disguise themselves, the world would look very different: spies and soldiers could slip by their enemies unnoticed and games of hide-and-seek would last for hours if not days. While fictional superheroes like X-men’s Mystique have this ability, there’s a reason nobody has mastered chameleon skills. Humans don’t actually need camouflage to survive. Your ancestors protected themselves by making weapons and living in big groups.