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Hypothesis and Proof in Science
Name: Mare
Status: student
Grade: 9-12
Location: NC
Country: USA
Date: September 2008
Question:
Science cannot prove evolution right it is just a hypothesis
right? I mean science cannot prove anything can it?
Replies:
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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Update: February 2012
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