# Explanation Vs Description - A description of a thing answers the question "what". - An explanation answers the question "why". Science is in the business of _explaining why_ the world is as it is, not merely describing it. It is not the accumulation of data, facts about the world, but rather explanations of it. A generalisation (eg; all swans are white) is a description of the world, not an explanation. An explanation would address the question of why we should expect all swans to be white. A prediction (every swan we encounter will be white) is also a description of the world. A side effect of an explanation is that it will tend to make many such predictions which can then in turn be tested. This process is what science entails.