How many people know what a scientific theory is?

Question

Quite frequently people point out that global warming / climate change is a scientific theory and imply that it is therefore untested and not necessarily widely accepted.

How many actually know what a scientific theory is and are aware for example that gravity is a scientific theory, so too is the world being round or that it revolves around the sun.

Answer 1

Gravity is considered a law. However, there are multiple theories that attempt to explain what we can measure through empirical observation or experiment (eg, Newton, Einstein). The world being round or revolving around the Sun may have once been theories, but one is now an observable fact (Earth is round) and the other is a law (Kepler's).

Now how all this relates to Global Warming is interesting. There is a lot of talk about it and a lot of explanations, but what EXACTLY is the theory? If it is as the 4th IPCC assessment says, that most of the observed rise in global temperature is very likely due to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gases, then who is positing this theory? The IPCC is a governmental panel. If this is an actual theory being posited and not just a hypothesis then surrender the data, models and algorithms for critical review.

Implying that this is a theory suggests that enough research has been done to support it to a high level of confidence. If that is the case, I would think that not only would they have released their models, they would have been begging for someone to prove them wrong.

How do you explain this omission?

Answer 2

There is a difference between a theory and a law. A law is not a theory. A law has a precise and verifiable measurement. This is the Law of Gravity. No thumbs down can redefine law and theory. These are basic terms for science.

Facts are what are observable without question. The earth being spherical like and that it revolves around the sun are observable facts not theories.

Not all theories are equal. There are what are known as good scientific theories, for instance, The Theory of Relativity. This is because it has excellent functionality at explaining many things in the Universe. This is not a Law of Relativity.

Sometimes, what we call theories are not theories at all. They are called hypothesis. A good hypothesis is the Hypothesis of CO2 caused Global Warming. Any physicist or hard scientist will tell you that calling this hypothesis a theory is wrong and completely misleading. A theory needs to make reasonable predictions. If it doesn't, it's still a hypothesis.

It must be evident that not all scientists are equal. Scientists who are dedicated to the scientific method and a dispassionate search for truth are hard to find these days. This is why science is becoming more and more unreliable with the passing years. In the old days, scientists were very concerned about proper method, dispassionate objectivity, and hard science. A scientist would go ballistic if a hockey stick was published in any major journal. But today we see no apologies, no "real" peer review, nothing, It just got passed and published in more publications , popular press and government reports then you can imagine and then later was "corrected."

What we have today is soft wishy washy people who put on the act of being intelligent but go on emotions and belief. All they do is discredit science as a whole.

Answer 3

Scientific theory is any conjecture that is used to explain. The theory needs to make reasonable predictions. If it does not that does not falsify it it only means that the theory needs refined. Gravity on earth is considered law not theory, the only part of gravity that is still theory is how certain bodies react in space. The theories of evolution and global warming both fail to make valid prediction. In the case of evolution when the theory was wrong science merely used the data that they uncovered to reshape the theory.In the case of global warming the predictions of hurricane activity has been wrong. Global warming is a poor theory based solely on a computer model that is not accurate because the variables are not all known.
Did you know that there have been thousands of theories that were accepted by science for decades only to be falsified later? A theory is a working explanation and nothing more. It is not law until it is proven. Part of the theory may indeed be fact but it would not be called theory if it were law.

Answer 4

Do you know what a scientific theory is? Go back into you studybooks. Because if you call gravity a theory, than you should also call every other physical thing a theory. This than does not fit the definition of a scientific theory.
( 1. It's a fact (not a theory) that there is gravity: to prove it hold something in your hand, than release it. What do you see? I falls!
2. It's a fact that the earth is round. To prove it: Just look at google earth or (if you don't trust them) connect all the satelite images yourself. You'll find out it won't fit on you're desk. On the other hand you'll find out that it does fit on a round object.
3. It's a fact that the earth revolves around the sun. That's more dificult for u to understand. Go figure out how the laws of gravity work and than i'll get later back to you.

Answer 5

A theory is a testable clarification for why reported activities take place as they do. Theories could clarify no rely if one experience motives yet another, or no rely if 2 correlated activities are led to via a third. A theory could assert that some activities are needed, yet no longer adequate, for particular others to ensue. A theory could say that an test could have any of various diverse effects, and assign possibilities to each and each of them. the suitable factor is that a theory isn't scientific except that's examined. sensible layout could be a theory, even though it is not technological know-how except the lifestyles of the dressmaker would be examined for experimentally. apparently, no passable try has ever been proposed. many human beings, consisting of me, think of that the assumption at the back of "sensible layout" is to sneak faith into the technological know-how lecture room by way of a back door. If unscientific theories are to be weighed, then I definitely have one that is a lot extra parsimonious than sensible layout. Universes are vacuum fluctuations, and our universe is reported to have existence in it because of the vulnerable anthropic thought. (Universes that have not have been given existence in them are by no skill reported.)

Answer 6

A theory is a statement, or group of statements, used to explain a group of phenomena that occurs during experimentation, when a hypothesis withstands repeat attempts to disprove it. The only difference between a theory and law is a theory is still open to debate under certain circumstances; whereas a law generally is not. A law is a theory, but a theory is not necessarily a law.
Good question! since most people don't even have a clue what science is, and what scientists do. They think we are out to prove something, when our job is actually an attempt to disprove. only failure to disprove a hypothesis should be considered evidence of its validity. When your goalis to prove a hypothesis, the tendancy to botch data occurs more often.
and before i get a bunch of thumbs down responses, i want to add... most cases i have witnessed of attempts to debunk man-made global warming have actually been attempts to "prove" that it doesn't exist, rather than experiments attempting to disprove the ones that suggests it does.

Answer 7

You bring up a good point...

There is a common confusion about different meanings of the word "theory."

In the vernacular of everyday use, people often say, "It's just a theory," or "Until it's a proven fact, it's just a theory."

Well, let's ignore for a moment that "proven fact" is redundant. (All "facts" are "proven." Otherwise, they are not facts!)

Let's also temporarily disregard the demonstrable lack of aptitude, verbal training and mental rigor that such repetitious rhetoric represents.

Instead, let’s look up two different definitions and put them in context.

Theory

1. a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena: i.e. Einstein's theory of relativity, Theory of evolution, quantum theory, etc.

2. a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact.

So here is a simple test to see which “theory” a person or group is using;

If the theory successfully explains and predicts natural phenomena, it is scientific.
(See definition one)

If the theory attempts to explain supernatural phenomena, or cannot ever make any successful predictions, it is not scientific. It’s just a theory, in the guess or conjecture sense.
(As in definition two)

It is easy to tell when a theory is not scientific…

Any theory that presupposes a desired explanation and works backwards from the desired explanation is not scientific.

Any theory that is contrived solely to support a political or philosophical agenda, is not scientific.

Any theory that uses rhetorical argument instead of precise experimentation, is not scientific.

Any theory that cannot be proven through consistent repeatable results, is not scientific.

Here I will provide just a few examples in context as an aid to readers.

A trained, educated and peer-reviewed scientist discovers new information that explains any natural phenomena. After many other trained, educated scientists have verified the evidence, (facts) this body of knowledge is called a “theory.” This is a scientific theory.

A group of Baptist snake-handlers who failed elementary science and have been brainwashed since birth to believe in invisible supernatural beings, develop a bogus defense of literal biblical interpretation based on nothing but conjecture, false premises and capricious arguments in direct contradiction to all known evidence. That is a non-scientific theory.

Answer 8

I don't believe even the knowledgeable get your drift. Nothing is EVER proven 100%. A 90% confidence level is acceptable in many cases; usually approaching, but never reaching, 100% confidence as more data is collected.

Answer 9

That is a very condescending question. A theory is an explanation based on facts, experiments and research. When a theory is proven many times and generally accepted as true, it may be termed a scientific law. I believe the concept of gravity is referred to as "Newton's Law of Gravity" not "Newton's Theory of Gravity" Also, the roundness of the earth and its revolution around the sun would be considered facts with today's technology, as a fact is something that can be observed or measured. Your point point, therefore, is moot.

Not every theory is correct. Some are very old theories and have been proven many times over. Many are newer theories, such as global warming, that still require much research and debate - research and debate that is being discouraged by a lot of people like Al Gore.

@Aleph Null: You have no idea what "theory" and "fact" refer to in a scientific sense. A fact is not a proven theory scientifically speaking, a fact is only something that can be measured or observed. A proven theory would be a scientific law. It takes a lot of time, effort and research for a theory to become a law. And your "baptist snake-handler" analogy is just insulting to anyone religous.

I just love how everyone in this section seems to be under the impression that they are a certified genius. Love it.

Answer 10

The world being round is a scientific theory? I knew about the other ones but not that. So the astronauts couldn't confirm the earth being round when they went into space? Now I'm sure man never went into space, it was all done in a studio. Very informative.