Comment Fact vs. theory (Score 1) 891
I like to think of the slashdot crowd as relatively well educated. When they have so much dissent over what theories and facts are you know the 'common man' is going to have no clue.
Fact: In a scientific sense, facts are just repeatably observable phenomena.
Gravity is a fact - things fall when dropped.
Evolution is a fact - hereditary traits change from generation to generation
Scientific theory: An attempt to explain a set of observed phenomena by making testable predictions. Theories are always open for debate and improvement if their predictions turn out to be falsified. Scientific 'laws' are just another name for theories. There is no difference between the two.
Newtons laws (theories) of motion - predict the motion of objects
Newtons law of universal gravitation - predict the forces exerted between objects by gravity - proven insufficient by GR
General theory of relativity - one of the current leading theories to explain gravitation but as with all theories is very much under assessment
The modern theory of biological evolution - this is a combination on several validated theories concerning how populations change over time. It includes items such as natural selection, mutation and sexual selection.
Fact: In a scientific sense, facts are just repeatably observable phenomena.
Gravity is a fact - things fall when dropped.
Evolution is a fact - hereditary traits change from generation to generation
Scientific theory: An attempt to explain a set of observed phenomena by making testable predictions. Theories are always open for debate and improvement if their predictions turn out to be falsified. Scientific 'laws' are just another name for theories. There is no difference between the two.
Newtons laws (theories) of motion - predict the motion of objects
Newtons law of universal gravitation - predict the forces exerted between objects by gravity - proven insufficient by GR
General theory of relativity - one of the current leading theories to explain gravitation but as with all theories is very much under assessment
The modern theory of biological evolution - this is a combination on several validated theories concerning how populations change over time. It includes items such as natural selection, mutation and sexual selection.
