The Unfocused Lens

by Deb on September 4, 2009

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{ 3 comments }

momi September 6, 2009 at 12:13 pm

Very interesting! What happens when you make a hypothesis that can’t be scientifically tested?

Deb September 6, 2009 at 5:06 pm

That’s actually part of the definition of science – it’s technical name is ‘falsifiability’ meaning if you can’t theoretically test it and prove it wrong then it isn’t part of science. This is where scientists get really creative, for example we can’t travel at the speed of light, but Einstein tested parts of his theory during a solar eclipse. Or there is an enormous detector being built of Antarctic ice to study gravity waves. Or there are particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider that are rings 20-30km long underground to try to study tiny particles and conditions around the Big Bang.

This is why something like Creationism is not science – there is no test that can be made, even theoretically or far in the future, that it can get wrong.

momi September 6, 2009 at 7:04 pm

Thanks for that explanation, it helps clear things up 🙂

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