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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: haqihana who wrote (15454)	3/15/2000 11:25:00 PM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

I think what we are up against is a problem in defining the term "theory". Science has a very rigorous definition of terms such as "law", "truth", "fact", etc. A scientist cannot use these terms unless the proposition in question can be absolutely proven in a replicable experiment. When we speak of "accepted scientific theories", we are not discussing something that was popped out of thin air, a hypothesis with no supporting evidence. We are talking of ideas for which large amounts of supporting evidence exist, but which cannot be absolutely proven, often because it is not yet possible to devise an appropriate experiment. A less controversial example might be the theory of plate tectonics, which is supported by abundant evidence and accepted by virtually all geologists, but cannot be experimentally demonstrated, and therefore cannot be treated as absolute fact. I don't think anybody would object to the teaching of this theory in schools simply because it cannot be experimentally proven. A "myth", on the other hand, such as the creation myths espoused by various religions, has no tangible evidence to support it, and relies entirely upon traditional accounts that have been passed down for extended periods of time, and are often (in the case of creation myths, almost always) presumed to have been started by individuals who did not witness the events in question. The decision to accept or reject a myth is purely a matter of faith, while the decision to accept or reject a scientific theory is generally based on evaluation of available evidence. I believe that scientific theories should be taught in schools and myths should not be. This is simply because I believe that faith should be dealt with at home, and science at school. Hope you're feeling better....