Theory
(Difference between revisions)
m (Scientific theory moved to Theory: Using the more general term also leaves the article to another equivocation discussion) |
Revision as of 21:38, 5 March 2007
A scientific theory, as defined by Kevin Padian in his testimony in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, is
"A theory, in science, [...] means a very large body of information that's withstood a lot of testing. It probably consists of a number of different hypotheses, many different lines of evidence. And it's something that is very difficult to slay with an ugly fact, as Huxley once put it, because it's just a complex body of work that's been worked on through time."
In common parlance, "theory" is roughly equivalent to "hunch" or "guess". But in science, a theory is a well-supported explanation.
