Posted April 08, 2010
Gundato: No, a Scientific Theory is, to oversimplify, "Probably right". It is usually based on empirical evidence (and correlation does not imply causation, but it sure does help :p) as well as a crapton of logical/mathematical relationships (those help a lot more), but it is not a fact. It is still refutable. It is just a way to explain. A "theory" if you will :p
DarrkPhoenix: Speaking as a scientist, this is on the right track, but doesn't fully give scientific theories their due. A scientific theory is a hypothesis that has survived numerous challenges to its predictive value, providing not only an explanation that fits the available evidence, but which has also managed to make accurate predictions regarding phenomenon the theory applies to. This doesn't mean it's fully accurate, it just means it's a highly accurate model (as an instructor of mine was fond of saying, "All models are wrong... but some are useful"). Later hypotheses (which become theories) may prove more accurate and thus supplant the original theory (as Relativity proved more accurate than Newtonian mechanics), although even in such cases the original theory still usually remains a useful predictive tool as long as the constraints within which it is accurate are kept in mind. Fully agree. Like I said, it was an oversimplification :p
But that still doesn't make it a fact, which is something that I still feel needs to be emphasized. Far too many people don't understand the scientific method and just instantly believe what they are told. People complain when others are indoctrinated and/or brainwashed by religion, but what about science?
Nah, the best thing that can be done is to inform people, then let them decide. Some would argue that teaching Creationism in school is doing that. I kind of don't. But I also still feel that it is the responsibility of the schools that teach evolution to emphasize that it is only a scientific theory (albeit, one with a lot of support). Especially because most of the other stuff you learn in school are the things like Newtonian physics and basic chemistry. You know, the stuff which, while not 100% correct in the light of recent findings, are still more than enough for anything the average person will do :p