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[Phys-L] Re: Bad Theory?



I think that Dwight is confusing the words "theory" and "hypothesis"



On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 16:54:30 -0500 "Dwight K. Souder"
<crvhs_dks@CRESTVIEW-RICHLAND.K12.OH.US> writes:
The other day, while driving and listening to the radio, I heard a
statement
that kind of got my blood boiling. The little news snippet that was
brought
up was about the controversy between the Evolution and "Intelligent
design".
Personally, I have my own beliefs of the whole thing, but I keep it
to
myself. Even if a student asks me what I believe, I don't answer
them, but
ask them about their beliefs. Personally, I can respect people who
believe
in one thing or the other.

The thing that got me a little angry was one of the statements made
on the
radio. It stated something along the lines that the teaching of
"X-belief"
is wrong because it is a BAD theory.

My argument is that there really is no such thing as a "bad theory".
To put
the two words together, "bad" and "theory"...is bad! :-) What
makes a
theory good or bad? Isn't a theory, just a theory...nothing good or
bad
about it? The way they were using the word "theory", it was as if
they
equated it to "law".

I sometimes think about the theory of how the craters on the moon
formed.
At one time, the common theory was that they were extinct volcanoes.
Was
that a bad theory? No! There was nothing good or bad about it, it
was just
a belief based on visual observations, until more evidence was
collected
that stated otherwise.

Am I wrong? What are your thoughts? I'm sure whatever anyone says
about
this will be "bad". ;-) (haha)

Have a great day!
Dwight
Ashland, OH


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