robinrohan writes me:
quote:
This doesn't make much sense to me, unless you are just saying that inductive evidence is never absolutely 100% certain.
Sort of; I'm saying that no scientific theory can be proved absolutely. The FAQ I linked to puts it this way:
In science, a theory is a rigorously tested statement of general principles that explains observable and recorded aspects of the world. A scientific theory therefore describes a higher level of understanding that ties "facts" together. A scientific theory stands until proven wrong -- it is never proven correct. The Darwinian theory of evolution has withstood the test of time and thousands of scientific experiments; nothing has disproved it since Darwin first proposed it more than 150 years ago. Indeed, many scientific advances, in a range of scientific disciplines including physics, geology, chemistry, and molecular biology, have supported, refined, and expanded evolutionary theory far beyond anything Darwin could have imagined.
quote:
But surely we can say that some "theories" are more certain than others.
Yes, but the distinction between overwhelming evidence and absolute proof can be important in science.
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