What Steve says is correct but I think it can be said in an even simpler manner using the ol' high school standby - "The Scientific Method".
If I remember correctly (high school was a few hundred beers ago) , the scientific method is:
Hypothesis
Experimentation
Synthesis
I guess you could put a step before hypothesis called observation. So in other words, you observe a phenomenon, posit a theory about the phenomenon, experiment, and then you either have proven or disproved your hypothesis (to some extent).
So scientists do observe (pre-hypothesis and during experimentation) but they also predict by making hypotheses. Observation without prediction doesn't generate much of any use, while prediction without observation is simply guessing. So IMHO a scientist needs to be both an observer and a predictor.
Of course, I majored in Slavic Languages so you may be better informed than me.
Paul W. Wegner
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