DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post

**TriamiCaw** · 11-09-2005, 04:36 PM

The confusion displayed in your post shows the failure of the education system, not the lack of validity regarding Darwin and evolution.

All they are teaching is that doubt exists with the Theory of Evolution.

Do you really believe that is ALL they are "teaching" with their mumbo-jumbo?

... there is doubt about it's validity, it has not been proven.

Wrong -- it has not been DIS-Proven (see below). Ergo it stands.

Even Darwin admitted it. That is why he called it a THEORY.

Hopefully you understand the use of the term "theory" within the scientific realm differs from the general usage of the same word.

In common usage a theory is often viewed as little more than a guess or a hypothesis. But in science and generally in academic usage, a theory is much more than that. A theory is an established paradigm that explains all or much of the data we have and offers valid predictions that can be tested. In science, a theory is never considered fact or infallible, because we can never assume we know all there is to know. Instead, theories remain standing until they are disproven, at which point they are thrown out altogether or modified to fit the additional data.

Theories start out with empirical observations such as "sometimes water turns into ice." At some point, there is a need or curiosity to find out why this is, which leads to a theoretical/scientific phase. In scientific theories, this then leads to research, in combination with auxiliary and other hypotheses (see scientific method), which may then eventually lead to a theory. Some scientific theories (such as the theory of gravity) are so widely accepted that they are often seen as laws. This, however, rests on a mistaken assumption of what theories and laws are. Theories and laws are not rungs in a ladder of truth, but different sets of data. A law is a general statement based on observations.

In scientific usage, theory is not the opposite of fact. Theories are typically ways of explaining why things happen, usually after the fact that they happen is no longer in scientific dispute. In referring to the "theory of global warming", for example, there is no implication that global warming is not occurring; world temperatures have been measured and are increasing. The "theory of global warming" refers instead to scientific work that explains how and why this has been happening.

In various sciences, a theory is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of a certain natural or social phenomenon, thus either originating from observable facts or supported by them (see scientific method). In this sense, a theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous observations made that is predictive, logical, testable, and has never been falsified.

11-09-2005, 04:36 PM	#4
TriamiCaw Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 392 Senior Member	The confusion displayed in your post shows the failure of the education system, not the lack of validity regarding Darwin and evolution. All they are teaching is that doubt exists with the Theory of Evolution. Do you really believe that is ALL they are "teaching" with their mumbo-jumbo? ... there is doubt about it's validity, it has not been proven. Wrong -- it has not been DIS-Proven (see below). Ergo it stands. Even Darwin admitted it. That is why he called it a THEORY. Hopefully you understand the use of the term "theory" within the scientific realm differs from the general usage of the same word. In common usage a theory is often viewed as little more than a guess or a hypothesis. But in science and generally in academic usage, a theory is much more than that. A theory is an established paradigm that explains all or much of the data we have and offers valid predictions that can be tested. In science, a theory is never considered fact or infallible, because we can never assume we know all there is to know. Instead, theories remain standing until they are disproven, at which point they are thrown out altogether or modified to fit the additional data. Theories start out with empirical observations such as "sometimes water turns into ice." At some point, there is a need or curiosity to find out why this is, which leads to a theoretical/scientific phase. In scientific theories, this then leads to research, in combination with auxiliary and other hypotheses (see scientific method), which may then eventually lead to a theory. Some scientific theories (such as the theory of gravity) are so widely accepted that they are often seen as laws. This, however, rests on a mistaken assumption of what theories and laws are. Theories and laws are not rungs in a ladder of truth, but different sets of data. A law is a general statement based on observations. *In scientific usage, theory* is not the opposite of fact.** Theories are typically ways of explaining why things happen, usually after the fact that they happen is no longer in scientific dispute. In referring to the "theory of global warming", for example, there is no implication that global warming is not occurring; world temperatures have been measured and are increasing. The "theory of global warming" refers instead to scientific work that explains how and why this has been happening. In various sciences, a theory is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of a certain natural or social phenomenon, thus either originating from observable facts or supported by them (see scientific method). In this sense, a theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous observations made that is predictive, logical, testable, and has never been falsified.
	Quote