Do you know anyone who doesn't understand the difference between a fact and a theory?

It's astounding that some people don't know the difference between a fact and a theory.

A fact is something that's been proven.

Whereas a theory is just something that someone came up with to try to explain what they've experienced. Theories don't have to true and can be proven wrong.

A little Education here as too many people don't understand the difference.

Have you found people that confuses the two?

Well, as of late, some facts are treated politically as theory. While some theories are treated as fact. Welcome to the new world order.

Lewis Carroll was a genius.

What comes next probably won't be very enjoyable.

A theorist welcomes people ripping apart their theories, it’s fun and strengthens the rationalising or destroys the incorrect.

Someone who doesn’t like their theories being questioned call them facts.

Gravity is just a theory.

a reply to: CryHavoc

originally posted by: Dalamax
A theorist welcomes people ripping apart their theories, it’s fun and strengthens the rationalising or destroys the incorrect.

Someone who doesn’t like their theories being questioned call them facts.

Gravity is just a theory.

a reply to: CryHavoc

When holding a brick over your foot, I am reasonably certain that your foot hurting should you let the brick go is infact a fact.

If you do think gravity is only a theory, please do the experiment. We are waiting on the painful scream.

a reply to: CryHavoc

A fact is something that's been proven

Not always. Facts can be neutralized by counter-facts. This has been proven many times. But the important thing to understand is that you can have a world with objects and beings, and no facts at all. A fact is not always true, and even if it is, it is true only under given circumstances, and not forever.

A fact only makes sense within a theory, and can be as false or true as the theory itself. I agree facts and theories are not the same thing, indeed, but I disagree with the fact that a fact is something that has been proven. This is also a fact, and yet it might very well be wrong. Or true. Or neither.

a reply to: Direne

No, CryHavoc is correct. It is prudent to use the language we have agreed upon.
Your diatribe is your interpretation, which is not correct.

Good old Webster will set it straight...

fact

noun
a thing that is known or proved to be true.
"he ignores some historical and economic facts"

LAW
the truth about events as opposed to interpretation.
"there was a question of fact as to whether they had received the letter"

a reply to: CryHavoc


Do you know ...

Not going to say ...

Twitter

Some people have a hard time with facts. They get confused.

originally posted by: DaRAGE
Twitter

Some people have a hard time with facts. They get confused.

Those are actually facts, unlike the brick analogy.

a reply to: CryHavoc

You would agree that the shape of the universe has changed many times and its shape was always seen as a fact at a time.

if we can be wrong about something so fundamental and hold on to the accepted theory so much so that we are willing to burn others having a thoery that turns out to be a fact.

It seems that a fact is merely the commonly accepted theory and can change anytime.

Proclaiming to be right because you adhere to the commonly accepted theory, might turn out to be just a theory and an erroneous one too.

There are people who think we have learned everything there is to learn and our current model is factually true.

Your point being?

a reply to: CryHavoc

That depends on whether you're doing "everyday usage" or "scientific."

Scientists have no trouble distinguishing the two. A Theory (from Theorem, as in all those geometry proofs you dodged out of doing) is a A theory is a carefully thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using established research methods. So we have Theory of Gravity, Theory of Electromagnetism, etc, etc.

A "theory" as non-scientists use the term means "hypothesis".

"Fact" in science means a statement that is true (and will be challenged to see if you can back it up.)

"Fact" in common usage means a "statement" that the user is presenting as true.



(speaking as a scientist, I kinda get tired of explaining this over and over and over again. I understand how the confusion arises and wish there was some sort of different vocabulary for this. It's not a problem in some languages because they have words to distinguish these things.)

originally posted by: beyondknowledge

originally posted by: Dalamax
A theorist welcomes people ripping apart their theories, it’s fun and strengthens the rationalising or destroys the incorrect.

Someone who doesn’t like their theories being questioned call them facts.

Gravity is just a theory.

a reply to: CryHavoc

When holding a brick over your foot, I am reasonably certain that your foot hurting should you let the brick go is infact a fact.

If you do think gravity is only a theory, please do the experiment. We are waiting on the painful scream.

My steel capped head stompers should come in handy then I didn’t say it wasn’t a well tested theory, it is however still a theory.

One plus one is two is a fact

I thought that a hypotheses was not proved to be true, but a theory was. I think that was in geometry and in real life. The hell if I know. School me please.

In my experience the problem is what some people will consider as proof. For example, are covid vaccines safe? Yes, the government said so. Is that a fact or is it a lie? Has it been proven? How does the average person know if it has been proven or not, because the same agency that said it was safe told them it was proven? If you got vaxxed and nothing happened to you, does that mean the vax is safe? Did you even get a vax or did you get a placebo? None of us knows the real answers to any of these questions. We believe what we believe.

I don't think for most people that its not knowing the difference between a fact and a theory. I think its just confirmation bias - a persons willingness or desire to believe something that fits their narrative.

Not many people I know can properly assess this subject. Evidence has to be interpreted properly to form a theory, then you have to verify if it is real which is interpreted by consensus of the time which is based on beliefs we hold at the moment.

Lately so many things that were said to be real have been proven false because proper assessment was never done.

Our reality we live in is based on beliefs that society accepts and believes which does not mean our reality is actually real.

It is important to examine all evidence properly taking into account the reason the evidence was collected and assessing who is funding the research as that steers it's interpretation

Facts do not have to be real, it is just our interpretation of things that makes them real.

When I grab an orange, is it really an orange or is it some hybrid which is not classified as an orange.....what is an orange? it is a citrus fruit which we have labeled, we gave it a name but the name is generally associated with definition created by consensus of the time. Is a mandarine actually an orange, some people think it is different, are our classifications actually real....they are sometimes not, but we still consider them real when in fact they are not. A tomato is a fruit not a veggi yet if you get a special at the store where you get two dollars off of nine dollars of veggies, tomatoes are considered veggies.

Another thing, is it really necessary to know how our universe was created....does it really matter? is it actually sensible to destroy our environment in the biodome we live in to send out telescopes into space to study this? Is that actually an intelligent thing to do? Those who do it think it is, but are they actually correct in their belief?

A fact is not always real, facts have a restricted way they can be used to be considered real which involves pertinence to what they are being applied to. Science is being steered by belief and desire for profit or funding.

Relevance always has to be considered when interpreting facts.

originally posted by: DaRAGE
Twitter

Some people have a hard time with facts. They get confused.

It's a technical error but their point was logical since they are clearly referencing the WEF with the eating bugs comment. That two tier system exists in all political structures.

The communist systems were and are also rife with insider favours for the loyal. But not the loyal of no status.

a reply to: CryHavoc

Almost but not quite.

A hypothesis is just something that someone came up with to try to explain what they've experienced. Hypotheses don't have to true and can be proven wrong.

A theory is a model or system that explains a hypothesis and can be tested. In it's most precise meaning, a theory is already tested and properly substantiated. It explains what has gone before and enables fairly accurate predictions The theory of gravity, for example. It stands to be challenged and refined, but very rarely since the eigtheenth century to be refuted.

a reply to: CryHavoc

Most people nowadays cannot process any real critical thinking. I believe social media is largely to blame in that the quick collection of information has made people lazy. All the time I see someone ask a question on some social media site "is this item rare?" (example). They rather type that short bit, and wait for a response than start looking into it themselves. Now, sometimes, people will put in effort but come up empty, and that happens, but their questions typically are more thought out and detailed.

Even on ATS, the trend of just reacting to what people read somewhere and then using it as a source without any further evidence has gotten worse over the years. I just posted this link in a response to a different thread which sums up what I believe is the problem.

It drives me crazy to be honest. I have an unsettling inner rage with it.

It's Time To Think About How You Think -

Wow.

Almost every response had a different idea of fact and theory.

a reply to: CryHavoc

A theory is closer to a fact than a hypothesis.

To transition from hypothesis to theory (which tests and confirms a hypothesis) is common while the transition from theory to fact is much more difficult and actually quite rare.

How many things in the natural world that we believe as absolute fact get proven wrong from time to time?

Truth is another matter altogether.