It's just a theory - isn't it?

A common catchcry heard from creationists when referring to Evolution is "it's just a theory". This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about what constitutes scientific Theory. To reject one scientific Theory so flippantly (and conveniently) means they should treat all scientific Theories with the same level of disregard. Would they though?

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Evolution As Theory And Fact
• evolution
• gravity
• plate
• tectonics
• darwin
• Charles Darwin
• Dawkins
• Creationism
• Intelligent
• Design
• General Relativity
• Einstein
• Germs
• Theory
• Creatards
• Logic
• Evidence
• Natural
• Selection
• Mutation
• Debate

[mphello]

Of course, the words "germs" and "bugs" are laypeople's terms to refer collectively to microscopic things (bacteria, viruses, arthropods, mold, fungus) that hurt us. :) No, unknowispeaksense: you don't have to go changing the title card for the germ section just because I pointed that out! :)

[uknowispeaksense]

@mphello given that 99.9% of the people who visit YouTube are laypeople..... ;0)

[mphello]

@uknowispeaksense

You mean lazypeople. ;)

[uknowispeaksense]

@mphello you and I are the 0.1%

[uknowispeaksense]

@nahaymath I see where you're coming from except that Law already has a place and it is different to Theory. Theories describe how the Laws work. Perhaps a different name altogether would be needed? Maybe "mechanism" might be a good word.

As for Koch's postulates = germ Theory well that just shows how much people don't know. As you and I know, Koch's postulates are a set of rules for establishing the pathogenic status of a potential pathogen.

[nahaymath]

@uknowispeaksense This is exactly why we rational people need to start calling them LAWS, rather than theories, when speaking to the unscientific. Then they'll be more convinced. We've done it already for more than 120 years with the Law of Conservation of Mass-Energy, Law of Conservation of Momentum, etc.

Funny how some have called it Koch's Postulates (rather than theory or law) for germ theory.

In math, "theorem" is the pinnacle of absolute truth, and "theory" is rigidly defined.

[uknowispeaksense]

Except evolution by natural selection is a scientific Theory. There is a massive difference between a hypothesis and scientific Theory. Your comment highlights the fact that scientific illiteracy and creationists go hand in hand.

[Answerquestions1]

theory can also mean hypothesis, when creationists say that evolution is just a theory, they mean that evolution is just a hypothesis