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Science

Science is something that many take for granted. Some go through their lives thinking it may not matter where something came from or where it may be headed; but behind the scenes there are marvelous things at work building, tearing down, and changing everything around us.

Currently, some aspects of science, particularly the Theory of Evolution, are being hotly debated due to both a gross misunderstanding of what it is and the intentionally divisive tactics of its opponents. From the perspective of freethought, the problem is not whether or not there is factual evidence supporting any aspect of any science, but rather how the conclusions are reached.

How Science Works, an overview

Many of us remember hearing about the “Scientific Method” during our grade school science classes. For those of you that don’t, the Scientific Method is a set of loose procedural guidelines for empirically learning from the world around us. They are:

  1. Observe something in nature
  2. Make a guess about a function, interaction, or trait (”hypothesis”)
  3. Devise a way to test your guess (”experiment”)
  4. Run your test both with and without the test condition
  5. Record your results
  6. If the test results are affirmative, it is said to support your guess; If the results are negative, it is said to reject your guess.
  7. Share your results so that others may reproduce the same experiment and compare their results with you

The thing that many people misunderstand about scientific studies is that experiments aren’t designed to “prove” anything. Scientific experiments and research attempt to disprove existing and new ideas. When an experiment is performed, the results either “reject” or “fail to reject” the hypothesis.

The idea is that “proof” only works in a vacuum — a situation where all variables can be controlled and we have perfect knowledge of what is happening. It is more realistic then to think up as many possible reasonable alternative explanations and attempt to disprove them. The more reasonable alternatives that are disproved, the better supported the hypothesis is.

So what about the Theory of Evolution?

As stated earlier, this particular topic is hotly debated. Although, despite what some opponents say, the debate among scientists is not whether or not it happened. The varying public opinions on this topic is largely due to a populace misinformed about both what it is and the evidence for it.

In the same way that you should take legal advice only from someone that is a legal professional, you should similarly seek out reputable scientific sources for scientific opinions. And even then, a healthy dose of skepticism is always a good prescription. There are often many different ideas floating around, and so all ideas should be considered based on their evidence and reasoned accordingly.

Working on the model of “disproving,” it becomes plainly obvious that disproving “X” does not prove “Y”. In this same vein - “disproving” (or “refuting”) Evolution, which has never been done in 149 years, does not “prove” an alternate theory, such as Raelianism, Creationism, Intelligent Design, or any alternative. So when people say “The Theory of Evolution is an unproven theory,” they are absolutely correct, although in a rather misleading way.

Important Scientific Concepts and Terms

Another reason for the lack of understanding about Science is due to a misunderstanding about terminology. In science, some words have slightly different meanings than they do to the layperson. Understanding these key differences will clear up many issues in comprehension.

  • Fact - A “fact” is simply an observation. “This apple is red,” “wheels are round,” “things fall towards the ground,” are all facts. They are generally self-evident.
  • Law - A “law” in Science is simply a statement or notion that describes a natural phenomenon. Laws are generally mathematical or quantifiable in nature, such as “Law of [Newtonian] Gravity,” or “Ideal Gas Law,” or “Laws of Thermodynamics.” These are generally derived from an attempt to quantify the observation of related facts.
  • Hypothesis - A “hypothesis” is simply a single “educated guess” or notion about a natural phenomenon. It must be (a) testable and (b) falsifiable. “Testable” means that it must exist naturally and be able to be manipulated in a controlled environment. “Falsifiable” means there must be some condition that “disproves” it. (Because remember, we’re trying to disprove our hypotheses with experiments!)
  • Theory -  A “theory” in Science is a collected body of many inter-related hypotheses that collectively explain a general natural phenomenon. The “Theory of Gravity,” or “Germ Theory,” or “Cell Theory.” Theories are regarded as the highest possible status a Scientific notion can receive. Theories are not “proven”, but since they must be falsifiable, can be disproven.