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| image by spekulator via sxc.hu |
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.- Albert Einstein
Introduction
It never fails to amaze me how ignorant the general populous is about basic scientific facts, like the difference between a hypothesis and a theory. So this begins a new series on common misunderstandings about science.
The Scientific Method
All branches of science employ the scientific method which begins by observing a problem, formulating a hypothesis, experimenting, then adjusting your hypothesis if need be and then drawing conclusions.
Contrary to popular believe you don’t assume the conclusion then work backwards to find evidence to support it. You assume your hypothesis is wrong, test it then draw conclusions based on the results.
Just a theory
When ever people use the phrase it’s just a theory, they often have no clue what a one is and are using it interchangeably with hypothesis. A hypothesis is a working explanation of a phenomenon bases on available evidence and is falsifiable (can be tested).
Hypotheses don’t graduate to theories, nor do theories graduate into laws.
A law is the mathematical representation of observations. To explain why these occur you need theories.
A theory is a series of interconnected concepts, based on previous knowledge, that is designed to be tested, make accurate predicts about future experiments, and explain laws and natural phenomena. They are the highest level of knowledge and thus deserve respect.
Peer Review
Just because someone comes up with a theory does not mean it’s valid and should be believed. Every theory must go through the peer review process where it is submitted to other experts in the field it applies to, and if its conclusions can’t be justify it’s rejected outright. Moreover, if a theory passes mustard with the peer review board it’s still looked on with skepticism until it yields fruitful results.
When Einstein published his paper on Relativity which predicted gravity could bend light he wasn’t believed until, using his theory he predicted the next solar eclipse to within a one day margin of error.
Nothing’s Set in Stone
Because new information is discovered all the time, theories are subject to change. The lay person is wont to say well what good is science then if it’s constantly changing, but that’s precisely why science is so good at explaining things. If the status quo was never challenged nothing new would come about. It’s also this feature of science which makes it immune from mistakes in the long run.
Well I hope this was informative, later.