Scientific Theory For Dummies

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(4) Absence of Contradictory Evidence:

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There cannot be any contradictory evidence or the theory is falsified, there cannot be any evidence that the theory does not explain, or the theory is incomplete.

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I really don't understand this one.Because what confuses me is that it sounds like a person is supposed to do anything they can to find out if something is wrong, then if something is wrong then it calls the entire body of work into question. And that kind of thing is very bothersome to me.Because if that was the way science truly work, then how can there be any progress, since, anybody with enough skill can find something wrong with some part and turn it against the body of work?For this kind of thing I am keeping in mind the general practice of Creationists who do this kind of thing.

Well, here's the kind of thing I mean:Lets say you want to test the phrase Ivory Soap floats.So you take that as a hypothesis and design an experiment. You get a tank and fill it with water and put the bar of Ivory Soap in the water. Then, let's say you do this experiment 1000 times. It floats for 998 times, but for two times it does not float.Now, wouldn't the overwhelming evidence be that Ivory Soap floats? And wouldn't that also make it a theory?Because, if we take the philosophy that in order to see if something is wrong with the experiment, that is to say there is any kind of mistake what so ever, then somebody can point to those two times that Ivory Soap didn't float that it would call into question the entire experiment so that people can say things like "it's impossible for Ivory Soap top float".That's what is confusing me about what you mean by falsification.

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What you have stated is more properly described as a hypothesis. Your hypothesis could be broadened into a theory if you expanded it to a more general statement describing how and under what conditions different things float.

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So a theory has to have more than one result from an experiment?But yeah, with the two bars that didn't float I would also investigate what materials they were made of to see why they didn't float.

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You also need to understand falsification.

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I never stated I did understand it fully. That's why I'm asking about it.

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Also, one posting tip.

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Thank you for the tip.