Just wondering, since you don’t think its been proved that it is possible.
"Proof that something is possible?" You are correct, anything is possible. That is why scientific theories can't be 'proved.' They can only be demonstrated to our satisfaction or limits of our measuring ability.
Now on the other hand if there was a scientific theory that Man couldn't fly, then all it would take would be one man flying to disprove that theory. That is what falsifiable means and that is the basis of Scientific theory.
When I pick up a rock and drop it, does that 'prove' the Theory of Gravity? No, because all it would take is a single instance of the rock not falling and that would disprove gravity.
So my question to you is this. Has Newtons Theory of Gravity been proved?
“Now on the other hand if there was a scientific theory that Man couldn’t fly, then all it would take would be one man flying to disprove that theory. That is what falsifiable means ...”
That may be what you mean, but the concept of falsifiablility in science comes from Karl Popper and peratains only to hypotheses or propositions and states they are only valid or scientific if they are falsifiable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability
That link, or a quick Google search of Karl Popper will expalin it all—but to save you time:
Falsefiability means, that for any proposition or hypothesis there must be some test that would prove the proposition or hypothesis false if it is false. Any proposition or hypothesis that cannot be proven false, if it is, is not a valid proposition or hypothesis—because otherwise just anything could be presented as the hypothetical explanation of anything—the fairies at the bottom of the garden did it, which a dear loved one frequently gives as an example, because you cannot prove that is false.
As you can see, this is the very opposite of your incorrect use of the concept. I’m not blaming or judging you. Karl Popper’s concept is misunderstood by most college professors, and most people are taught the wrong meaning of it.
As you can see, it’s real meaning is that a correct hypothesis is proveable. Here’s why. Since a valid proposition or hypothesis must have a test that will prove it false, if it is, if the test is made on such a hypothesis, if it fails to be proven false, then it must be true, and therefore, proven. Amazing, huh? If a test is made on a hypothesis it must fail if it is false, and it does not fail, it must be true, because if it were not, it would have failed.
Now I have to ask why you dodged the question. Everything can be put in a negative light, such as you did with heavier than air human flight. Of course any false hypothesis will be disproved by the proving of a true own. The possibility of heavier than air human flight was a great scientific debate right up to and beyond the first flights of the Wright Brothers. Since the possibility of heavier than air human flight is a fact, why won’t you admit that hypothesis is now a proven theory?
Do you think Ohms law has not been proved?
Do you think the nature of combustion as described by Lavoisier has not been proved?
Do you think the nature of the human circulatory system as described by William Harvey has not been proved?
It would take an entire encyclopedia just to name all the things that have been proved in science.
Your Humean skeptec teachers have done you a great disservice, I think.
Hank