Hypothesis and Proof in Science

Name: Mare
Status: student
Grade: 9-12
Location: NC
Country: USA

Question: Science cannot prove evolution right it is just a hypothesis 
right? I mean science cannot prove anything can it?
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Hi,

Sometimes we get confused as to what science is all about. Science is simply 
about gathering and generating all the information we can about a subject to 
enable us to say:  based on what we know now, this is how it seems to be.

Science relies on evidence that anyone willing and able can obtain. You do not 
have to have special powers, connections, touch, etc. to do so.  Science is not 
about "truth" because we quickly run into the difficulty of defining "truth." 
Science is about what we know about a subject based on the information available 
to us at the time. If we obtain solid results that are contrary to what we 
thought before, we modify our thinking.

If we were to describe how we humans came about, and using all the evidence 
available, we come up to the idea that we (and other species) evolved from 
simpler organisms over millions of years, and that this "evolution" seems to 
have happened in a particular way, which we sum it up in the theory of 
evolution. As we get more information, we can change, modify, correct, and add 
to this understanding.   This is the level of "proof" science can provide. 
Science has a pretty good track record with this type of "proof".
Imagine flying an airplane. There are thousands of parts that make up that 
airplane, from body to engine, from electronics to navigational instruments, 
from hinges to rubber seals... But behind each and every part there is some 
theory, developed by scientists and engineers over time, about how that part, 
system, or material works.  You fly, because all these theories have "proven" 
themselves right, and that is why you trust that thousands of parts will work 
together to get you to your destination.   Is this proof enough for the 
validity of those theories?  I do not know how else we can do better. The 
theory of evolution is similar to this, except that some people, because of 
what they perceive to be their faith, reject the idea of evolution without 
having any evidence to support their own version. In a sense, without any 
evidence, they say god had to do it the way we think.  A very ungodly 
viewpoint.

Hope this helps

Ali Khounsary, Ph.D.
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