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To: mountainlion
mountainlion: "Scientific theories are seldom proved as the last rule of the scientific method is to redo the whole process."

One significant problem, and dead give-away, for our anti-science posters is that they loathe real science so much that they absolutely refuse to learn its key ideas and terms.
So they simply can't post accurately about what real science is and does.

One example is your statement here: in actual scientific terms, no non-mathematical theory is ever proved.
The classes of scientific knowledge begin with "confirmed observations" also known as "facts" -- for example: earth's rotation is approx. 24 hours.
This observation has been confirmed so often it is not considered debatable, at least in the Universe as we know it.
So it's a fact.

Explanations of why events happen begin as hypotheses -- for example: a year is 12 months because that's how long it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun.
This idea was originally quite controversial, and for many years was called a scientific "hypothesis".

When a hypothesis is confirmed (not "proved") it gets promoted to the status of "theory".
In the example of Earth's revolution around the Sun, this theory has now been confirmed so many different ways it is almost considered a "confirmed observation", which would make it also a "fact".
Indeed, it's impossible for me to even imagine a test which might conceivably falsify the heliocentric theory.

So "scientific consensus" is all about which hypotheses are or are-not strongly enough confirmed to be considered theories.
Further, which theories are so frequently confirmed by observations as to be considered, in effect, facts?

In the case of Evolution Theory, there are many confirmed observations aka facts, including ancient fossils found in geological strata, comparative anatomy of fossils & modern creatures, radiometric dating, DNA analysis, plus supporting data from many other scientific fields such as astronomy, physics, geology, biology, etc.
And the scientific explanation -- hypothesis -- that these can be understood by the combination of A) descent with modifications and B) natural selection has also been confirmed frequently enough to label theory.

Indeed, some claim that Evolution Theory has been confirmed so many different ways that it is as much fact as theory.
I'd say that's a matter of definitions, but at least a case can be made for it.

mountainlion: "Wikipedia is a place where people post stuff and others others can take it down."

Please don't forget, the issue you raised in post #38 had to do with "scientific consensus".
Precisely because Wikipedia can be accessed & corrected by anyone, it is an excellent source for determining exactly what is "consensus" on any particular subject.

In other words, you might well dispute Wikipedia's conclusions -- in which case you can post a more authoritative source -- but when the question is "consensus", Wikipedia is as good a place to look as any.

134 posted on 10/11/2012 8:11:59 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective....)
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To: BroJoeK
I am not anti science just against sloppy science or false representations. Global warming is an example of science abused. Science is unable to prove how life started as it can not be recreated. There is much fraud in evolution so I do not take the first presentation as fact. Nebraska man is a good example. Some say that any two legged primate is “human” I feel that is a misrepresentation. The rotation of the earth and the orbit change and are rechecked as new equipment and theories are formed. The meaning of words change in diverse groups and time as you dislike of my use of proved.

The news media is a prime source of misuse of science. I believe in multi source information and as close to the primary source as I can understand.

135 posted on 10/11/2012 8:31:01 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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