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To: CarolinaGuitarman

Read post #903.
Read post #864.

Do you support Coyoteman's TOE?


920 posted on 04/23/2006 4:28:31 PM PDT by TaxRelief (Wal-Mart: Keeping my family on-budget since 1993.)
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To: TaxRelief
Do you support Coyoteman's TOE?

As it appears you are struggling with the definition of a theory, here is some additional information for you:

From an NSF abstract:

As with all scientific knowledge, a theory can be refined or even replaced by an alternative theory in light of new and compelling evidence. The geocentric theory that the sun revolves around the earth was replaced by the heliocentric theory of the earth's rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun. However, ideas are not referred to as "theories" in science unless they are supported by bodies of evidence that make their subsequent abandonment very unlikely. When a theory is supported by as much evidence as evolution, it is held with a very high degree of confidence.

In science, the word "hypothesis" conveys the tentativeness inherent in the common use of the word "theory.' A hypothesis is a testable statement about the natural world. Through experiment and observation, hypotheses can be supported or rejected. At the earliest level of understanding, hypotheses can be used to construct more complex inferences and explanations. Like "theory," the word "fact" has a different meaning in science than it does in common usage. A scientific fact is an observation that has been confirmed over and over. However, observations are gathered by our senses, which can never be trusted entirely. Observations also can change with better technologies or with better ways of looking at data. For example, it was held as a scientific fact for many years that human cells have 24 pairs of chromosomes, until improved techniques of microscopy revealed that they actually have 23. Ironically, facts in science often are more susceptible to change than theories, which is one reason why the word "fact" is not much used in science.

Finally, "laws" in science are typically descriptions of how the physical world behaves under certain circumstances. For example, the laws of motion describe how objects move when subjected to certain forces. These laws can be very useful in supporting hypotheses and theories, but like all elements of science they can be altered with new information and observations.

Those who oppose the teaching of evolution often say that evolution should be taught as a "theory, not as a fact." This statement confuses the common use of these words with the scientific use. In science, theories do not turn into facts through the accumulation of evidence. Rather, theories are the end points of science. They are understandings that develop from extensive observation, experimentation, and creative reflection. They incorporate a large body of scientific facts, laws, tested hypotheses, and logical inferences. In this sense, evolution is one of the strongest and most useful scientific theories we have.

Modified from RadioAstronomers's post #27 on another thread.


923 posted on 04/23/2006 4:30:59 PM PDT by Coyoteman (Interim tagline: The UN 1967 Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: TaxRelief
I don't see you working hard to back up your claim that evolution is too broad to be a scientific theory. Focus. :)


PS: I said *What's wrong with it* in reference to Coyoteman's definition. Your flailing is sad to watch. Answer my question.
925 posted on 04/23/2006 4:35:22 PM PDT by CarolinaGuitarman ("There is grandeur in this view of life....")
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To: TaxRelief; CarolinaGuitarman
Read post #903. Read post #864. Do you support Coyoteman's TOE?

I support every word of his post #864 -- you know, the part where he pointed out that YOU made a claim, and YOU have run away from all attempts to get you to actually support it. Instead, you have played stupid evasion and diversion games, like asking other folks to give you definitions and descriptions.

Sorry, son, but no one's buying it. YOU made a claim, YOU back it up. We'll wait. If past experience is any indication, we'll wait a VERY long time while you continue to play childish games (typical of all anti-evolutionists) wherein you do everything BUT actually support the false claim YOU flung into the conversation like a sack of flaming dung onto a front porch.

Put up or shut up. (Of course, anti-evolutionists are never willing to do *either*).

926 posted on 04/23/2006 4:35:55 PM PDT by Ichneumon (Ignorance is curable, but the afflicted has to want to be cured.)
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