A scientist is a person engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge that

describes and predicts the natural world. In a more restricted sense, a scientist may
refer to an individual who uses the scientific method.[1] The person may be an expert
in one or more areas of science.[2] The term scientist was coined by the theologian,
philosopher and historian of science William Whewell. This article focuses on the
more restricted use of the word. Scientists perform research toward a more
comprehensive understanding of nature, including physical, mathematical and social
realms.

Philosophy is today typically regarded as a distinct activity from science, though the
activities were not always distinguished in this fashion, with science considered a
"branch" of philosophy rather than opposed to it, prior to modernity. Philosophers aim
to provide a comprehensive understanding of fundamental aspects of reality and
experience, often pursuing inquiries with conceptual, rather than empirical, methods.
Natural scientific research is usually also distinguished from inquiry in the humanities
more generally, and often with inquiry in the social sciences and mathematics on
various grounds, although these distinctions may be controversial.

Description
Science and technology have continually modified human existence through the
engineering process. As a profession the scientist of today is widely recognized.
Scientists include theoreticians who mainly develop new models to explain existing
data and predict new results, and experimentalists who mainly test models by making
measurements though in practice the division between these activities is not
clear-cut, and many scientists perform both tasks.

Jurisprudence and mathematics are often grouped with the sciences. Some of the
greatest physicists have also been creative mathematicians and lawyers.[examples
needed] There is a continuum from the most theoretical to the most empirical
scientists with no distinct boundaries. In terms of personality, interests, training and
professional activity, there is little difference between applied mathematicians and
theoretical physicists.

Scientists can be motivated in several ways. Many have a desire to understand why
the world is as we see it and how it came to be. They exhibit a strong curiosity about
reality. Other motivations are recognition by their peers and prestige, or the desire to
apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of people's health, the nations, the world,
nature or industries (academic scientist and industrial scientist). Scientists tend to be
less motivated by direct financial reward for their work than other careers. As a result,
scientific researchers often accept lower average salaries when compared with many
other professions which require a similar amount of training and qualification