Chronology | Current Month | Current Thread | Current Date |
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] | [Date Index] [Thread Index] | [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] | [Date Prev] [Date Next] |
Mark Sylvester wrote:Aw, c'mon. The English language ain't that old. How old is the
I don't know what support I should provide for distinguishing
theories from empirical laws beyond referring doubters to a
dictionary - I'm not proposing something different from standard
usage within scientific circles. I am cautioning against the
widespread further use of "theory" in common English to denote
something uncertain or tentative as in "...that's all very well in
theory".
I checked a half-dozen dictionaries, all of which support
the view that the word "theory" has two divergent meanings
a) a mere conjecture or speculation, or
b) a collection of results giving an overview and a
refined understanding of a particular subject.
Both of these meanings are correct and evidently have been
for thousands of years.
=========
Constructive suggestions: to replace the word "theory":
-- for definition (a), the words "conjecture" or "speculation"
make fine substitutes.
-- for definition (b), it's hard to find a word that is strong
enough. With some loss of strength one can speak of the
"laws" or "principles" of evolution, or the "observed facts"
of evolution.