Friday, November 13, 2009

What does "That's Only A Theory" mean?

I am more or less in favor of placing a disclaimer on the cover of science books that evolution is merely a theory* and has not been conclusively proven. For the sake of objectivity, however, I also think it prudent to place a disclaimer on the cover of all religious texts stating in no uncertain terms, "the existence of God is just one theory among many about the origin of the universe. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence for the existence of God and any conviction(s) must be based exclusively on faith."

Would this be acceptable to society, especially its militant atheists and religious zealots? If not, this clearly exposes the inherent bias we all have, however unconscious it may be.

*Technically and definingly, a "theory" is the best prevailing explanation for any idea or concept. Sir Issac Newton’s classical laws of gravitation, Einstein’s Special and General Theories of Relativity (segueing into quantum mechanics which curiously contradict Newton’s classical theories?), and so on and so forth…

Be my guest, try to disprove the likes of Einstein or Newton! Good luck! If you do, you’ll be rich and famous, the de facto Stephen Hawking of our day!

On the other hand, the fundamental problem with ALL religions is that they are, in principle, UNFALSIFIABLE.

The beauty and elegance of scientific theory is that it IS FALSIFIABLE!

A critical aspect of how we learn is by falsifying well established theories!

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