Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthida
Everyone always brings up the "it's just a theory" argument, when the term isn't being used how you think it is. In science, a theory is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of empirical observations. It isn't guesswork.
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Its not 100% guesswork, but it also isn't a fact. A scientific fact is an observeable natural occurance. We cannot observe macro evolution, thereforce it cannot be labeled as a fact. A scientific theory is an attempt to explain how natural occurances work. While a theory is based off of facts, it is not a fact. It attempts to put together scientific facts to come to a conclusion that cannot actually be observed in full.
I don't personally discount how well thought out some theories are, but in the end, its just a theory... any way you look at it. For all we know we could be living in the Matrix. Or we could be the build up under some exteremely large evolved creature's toenail, just waiting for the day where he cleans us out.. Or like a weird Anime I watched touched on.. The would could have just been created when you were born, and you could be in complete control of your environment and not even know it.. and when you die the worls could end.
-EDIT-
Just tossing in this to add tot he first point. Someone mentioned evolution is as much of a theory as gravity. The thing is, gravity is a scientific fact. Gravity is observeable and testable. The theories come in where they use that scientific fact to try to explain the orgins of gravity, or explain what creates gravity.
Evolution is a scientific fact also, you see man evolve from a child into an adult (aka micro evolution), and we're even seeing some slow generational evolution. The theories for evolution come into play when they use it to explain the orgin of our species.