Why is theory considered fact?

Question

Especially in astronomy, what we know of the universe is pretty much solely theory based on observations of our planet applied to space and astronomy but people regurgitate this information as fact without consideration or belief that it is agruable and constantly under examination and investigation.

Answer 1

Not true...scientists constantly question theories and have to change or replace them when new evidence arises. Astronomers change their view of the universe quite often.

That being said, many theories are extermely well supported by evidence, but are challenged all the time by people with a vested interest but no real undertanding of the theory or evidence to contradict it. Scientists are not trained in public relations, and we tend to brush them off and just tell them they're wrong, which creates the impression that we don't listen. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you can actually demonstrate some reason that a theory is wrong, any real scientist will give you a chance. But you need evidence, not argument.

Answer 2

You don't seem to understand how a theory becomes a fact. Think of the theory of gravity. Do you think of it as "just a theory" that might stop working any time? No, becaue all of the real-world evidence we have supports the theory of gravity.

Gravity is still called a theory, but it's pretty much a fact. Scientists use the word theory for gravity or evolution despite the overwhelming nature of the evidence that support them, in order to remain sicientific and open to modification or refinement of the theory.

It's the same with lots of things. Some theories are relatively new, or have obvious problems that mean they are incomplete. Other theories have stood the test of time, and although modified or refined, are still the best explanation we have for what we're trying to understand. Evolutionary theory is a good example. This "only a theory" argument forgets that evolution is the basis for countless applications in medicine, biology, and other fields.

Answer 3

The definition of theory is basically an explanation that has not yet been disproved through some sort of experiment or observation. Any scientist, famous or not, will admit this. Most will want credit for a great theory, but deep down they'll admit they hope it gets replaced with something better. Certain properties of things can be called fact, but a theory is always subject to revision. Until some or explanation comes along, the theory stands. Newton's theory of gravity stood for centuries before Einstein's General Relativity replaced it by being a better explanation of how things work. When something else comes along that gets verified through experiement, it COULD replace relativity.

Answer 4

Well-established theories are, practically speaking, indistinguishable from fact. While just about everything is constantly being investigated, things like relativity, gravity, and celestial mechanics would hardly be considered "arguable". Many other theories, such as stellar evolution, are largely well established though some details may be uncertain.

YA is not a scientific journal, and many questioners are not scientifically literate, so simplified answers are the norm. And there is certainly no guarantee of accuracy here. To evaluate scientific information, you need to understand what science knows and how it knows it. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that because science doesn't know everything, it knows nothing.

Answer 5

The question should be, why is fact actually theory?

The reason is, in science, even if we know somehing inside out, and it's been tested and proven millions of times over, we must leave just a tiny bit of room to accept modification should we by chance discover something new.

This is because we don't know what we don't know, things may behave differently under different conditions, or we may not have a full understanding of what's going on.

For example, according to Isaac Newton, if you were in a car (or chariot for that matter) going 40 mph and you threw a baseball out the window going 30 mph in the direction you are traveling in, the baseball would be going 70 mph relative to the ground.

This is true enough for most purposes and it wasn't until rather recently that we discovered that this actually isn't true for everything. If you tossed a photon out the window at light speed for example, the photon wouldn't go light speed + 30mph, it'd still just go light speed because photons can't travel faster than "light speed" (as far as we know). In fact the closer you are to the speed of light, the less Newtonian physics applies when it comes to the velocity of things.

Answer 6

Theory is not considered fact, by definition.

The word "theory" has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on the context and their methodologies. In common usage, people use the word "theory" to signify "conjecture", "speculation", or "opinion." In this sense, "theories" are opposed to "facts" — parts of the world, or claims about the world, that are real or true regardless of what people think.

In science, a theory is a proposed description, explanation, or model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation. It follows from this that for scientists "theory" and "fact" do not necessarily stand in opposition. For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theory which explains why the apple behaves so is the current theory of gravitation.

Answer 7

Thank you Honey, you brought a tear to my eye. Finally some sign of intelligence on the internet.... I... I'm sorry..........

Ok, I've gotten myself together now. Damn girl, this is exactly the kind of ignorance I'm trying to fight. Lightning is generated in the clouds, gravity and black holes and dark matter when black holes aren't enough pull the galaxies and stars into the shape that they're in. When new data contradicts the old theories, instead of coming up with new ones they just tack on more stupid crap onto the old theories.

It really makes me sick, but who am I to question these scientists right? I got to have a degree to have an opinion. Everyone is so damn uptight these days, and then they just get mad when you start asking a simple question like "why," or "how?" How the hell does warm rising air cause an F5 tornado? It sure looks to me like there's way more energy in that damn thing than the air can hold, but hoooold up. I don't got a degree, I'm an effin idiot.

Why do sunspots show us filaments that look a lot like tornadoes, straddling themselves over the dark core?
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/Bigpappadiaz/041015solar-tornado.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/Bigpappadiaz/sun2.jpg
Why does it look like something is travelling across the surface of the Sun towards these sunspots?
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/Bigpappadiaz/050617penumbra.jpg
Why does the solar "wind" accelerate off the surface of the sun? Why do sunspots show us a cooler interior? Why does it look like the Sun is actually electrified, and not undergoing fusion in the core?
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/Bigpappadiaz/040830magnetic.jpg

None of those questions will ever be adressed in school though, the theory that the Sun is undergoing fusion in the core will be taught in schools as FACT. So all these damn kids can get on Yahoo! Answers so that when some little kid with an unpoisoned mind asks "How does the Sun produce light?" all these other kids can tell him "Fusion in the core! Duh!" like it's a fact.

Man I need a Red Bull.

Answer 8

Scientists do not consider any theory's facts, and in the most literal since, don't even consider laws facts. (Laws as in, the universal law of gravitation) Scientists always keep in mind that any observation, law, or theory could be disproved at any given time, in order to further human understanding. The only thing that would come close to a literal fact in science, would be a mathematical formula.
Fact is truth, and truth is always changing.

Answer 9

As the great fictional character Sherlock Holmes once said,

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
The Sign of Four

Answer 10

Good question. You start to believe 'it' is true when it always works well and you have no contradiction.