Something in this post made me wonder....
The word 'theory' seems to be confused a lot and is generally considered to mean "an unproven idea" by most people in the English speaking world, when in fact it is used differently in various fields. The biggest example of this being negative is people dismissing evolution because it is a 'theory'.
I am wondering if this may be an English problem only, due to the fact other languages may use extra words for the different meanings. Can anyone enlighten me with some translations?
Feel free to add other word confusions that may exist. Thanks to Fraggle Rocker for the post.
That's our own bloody fault. The definition of a theory in science is a hypothesis that has been proven true beyond a reasonable doubt. Unfortunately the word is also used in mathematics to mean something which is absolutely true. It's also used by police detectives to mean a hunch.
Worse yet, our own people come up with names like String Theory, which isn't a theory at all, merely a promising hypothesis.
So it's no wonder that laymen are confused.
The word 'theory' seems to be confused a lot and is generally considered to mean "an unproven idea" by most people in the English speaking world, when in fact it is used differently in various fields. The biggest example of this being negative is people dismissing evolution because it is a 'theory'.
I am wondering if this may be an English problem only, due to the fact other languages may use extra words for the different meanings. Can anyone enlighten me with some translations?
Feel free to add other word confusions that may exist. Thanks to Fraggle Rocker for the post.