(April 29, 2012 at 4:12 pm)Stimbo Wrote:ALTER2EGO -to- STIMBO:(April 29, 2012 at 2:50 am)Alter2Ego Wrote: What you're not willing to acknowledge is that Big Bang is nothing more than a theory aka "a group of hypotheses that can be disproven."
Scientific Theory: a "systematic ideational structure of broad scope, conceived by the human imagination, that encompasses a family of empirical (experiential) laws regarding regularities existing in objects and events, both observed and posited. A scientific theory is a structure suggested by these laws and is devised to explain them in a scientifically rational manner."
The whole point of a theory is to disprove the shit out of it again and again until what remains is a diamond-hard kernel of truth.
Keep your eyes on the words within your quotation above that I bolded in red, and you will begin to see that when you read scientific papers in which people theorize, you're reading what equates to science fiction. While we're waiting for this absentee "diamond-hard kernel of truth," the only thing up for grabs at the present time is what was "conceived by the human imagination." That's why the expressions "Big Bang" and "Evolution" are both chained to the word THEORY like Siamese twins.
(April 29, 2012 at 4:12 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Basically, saying something is "nothing more than a theory" is precisely the same as dismissing a world-class athlete as "nothing more than a gold-medal winner".ALTER2EGO -to- STIMBO:
That's not what I'm saying, and you know it. You're exaggerating. Anybody with common sense can tell the difference between a world-class athlete and a mere gold medal winner. On the other hand, a scientific theory is nothing more than a group of hypotheses that can be disproven. Scientific theory is a far cry from scientific fact. Below are definitions you will find useful. I will address the remainder of your rebuttal in another post.
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
Definition of Scientific Theory
A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore, theories can be disproven. Basically, if evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, then the hypothesis can become accepted as a good explanation of a phenomenon. One definition of a theory is to say it's an accepted hypothesis.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm
Definition of Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an educated guess, based on observation. Usually, a hypothesis can be supported or refuted through experimentation or more observation. A hypothesis can be disproven, but not proven to be true.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm
Definition of Scientific Fact:
An observation that has been confirmed repeatedly and is ACCEPTED AS TRUE.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/scientific+fact
