Steven D. Schafersman's article from 1994, "An Introduction to Science:
Scientific Thinking and the Scientific Method" has been sitting in my bookmarks pile at Connotea for ever so long, patiently waiting a blog entry. In particular, here is his capstone explanation of what a scientific theory is and is not:
The final step of the scientific method is to construct, support, or cast doubt on a scientific theory. A theory in science is not a guess, speculation, or suggestion, which is the popular definition of the word "theory." A scientific theory is a unifying and self-consistent explanation of fundamental natural processes or phenomena that is totally constructed of corroborated hypotheses. A theory, therefore, is built of reliable knowledge—built of scientific facts—and its purpose is to explain major natural processes or phenomena.
posted:
2:19:35 PM
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