It is encouraged in some Yeshivas. Not all Yeshivas nowadays stick to tradition, unfortunately.

@DoubleAA perhaps it's due to all the atheist professors using science as a platform to spread their views

mechon-mamre.org/i/1102.htm

@DoubleAA says that a man contemplates., could mean intuitively the self-evident wisdom manifest. not necessarily in-depth systematic study like science. ie just looking at a tree and contemplating that it grows and we cant get anywhere close to makingthis

Too broad? AFAIK, many yeshivot actually DO encourage some form of science study, though it may not necessarily be the "formal" way as dictated by the state Board of Ed or Regents. If you think about it, in most yeshivot, there is much concern about what bracha to make on "strange" foods. Determining the majority ingredient of an unknown food is a form of science. Shulchan Aruch discusses the lunar cycle, and yeshivot discuss this on some level. Hmmm .. sounds like astronomy to me! Isn't math a form of science? Guess what? Yeshivot teach how to design a succah. Sounds like geometry to me.

@ray An average Yeshiva Bachur would say the same thing after contemplating a cell phone.

@DanF they learn science to make the board of education happy and to make a living not with the attitude of mitzva

@ray Actually, the main reason is that these places have to do it if they want gov. funding. In their minds, funding the yeshiva in whatever way that happens, IS a mitzvah. I have to agree with that method, even if the yeshivot do it reluctantly.

@DoubleAA nah. i think it's obvious that the wisdom in living things is far superior than that of man. but then again i am a scientist so not objective

@ray Totally not objective. Go ask someone 500 years ago which is more impressive: a tree or an iPhone 7 (and demonstrate how it takes photos, videos, etc. and sends them to other phones, etc.). No question they'd be more wowed by the phone.

if yes, why is this not encouraged in the yeshivas at all. Even if this were factually correct, which it is not, it would still probably be "Jews not Judaism".

@DoubleAA maybe but it does not detract from the fact that the wisdom in the tree or even a bacteria is vastly superior. but you're right it is not apparent to everyone without in-depth study

@ray It doesn't detract or prove. The main takeaway is what is superior wisdom is just subjective based on what you know. Someday, scientists might think their tech is more impressive than trees. Who knows? We are stuck in our perspective with what we know about engineering.

@ray Right. "at present". We are totally biased by our knowledge base. What's easy for one person is hard for another and vice-versa (eg. mathoverflow.net/q/95837 ).

@ray "perhaps it's due..." That just tells you to learn from frum professors, not to not fulfill the Mitzva. Seems pretty irrelevant to the matter at hand. Don't know why people are upvoting it as if it's a cogent response.

@DoubleAA it is a response perhaps why all yeshivas tend not to study it. happens to be true also that unfortunately this is what happened to science

@ray No it is not such a reason, but rather it's a reason why they wouldn't study from atheist agenda-pushing professors. It is not a response about the content.

@DoubleAA they make a geder (fence). because once a person starts to study science he start buying books of eminent scientists such as dawkins which are anti-theists. so better to steer away altogether. i think that's their reasoning

@ray Ah. So this is a modern "Gezera" which goes against millenia of Jewish tradition. Ok. Obviously we don't have the power to negate a Mitzva beShev veAl Taaseh nowadays, so this "Gezera" is obviously not effective or binding. Makes as much sense as forbidding studying Torah lest you come to read an academic bible paper. Best to just stick to tradition and not listen to reformers.

@DoubleAA not a gezera just a dangerous area where many have fallen

@ray Best to just stick to tradition and not listen to reformers. (True in general.)

In any event, isn't this question asking for justification for exactly that? No need to fill these comments with your speculation. The answer space is for answers.