This is something that comes up quite frequently in discussions between scientists and the general public. How much proof does it take for a theory to graduate to being a law? Theory Law Because the words theory and law have such different meanings in the language of science, it is often a difficult question to answer, so instead, I'll start by giving you a few similar
  • ragica@lemmy.ml
    4·
    2 years ago

    I was worried that a headline like that was going to be some silly pseudo-science link. So I’m going to quote the fun analogies from the opening paragraph of linked article, to give a better sense to someone looking here where this is going :

    I’ll start by giving you a few similar questions to answer.

    1. How perfectly do you have to build a house so that it will become a single brick?
    2. How well do you have to write an entire dictionary to change it into a single word?
    3. What would you have to do to change an entire symphony into a single note?

    If you are thinking that those questions don’t make much sense, then you are feeling very much like a scientist who has been asked “How much proof does it take for a theory to graduate to being a law?”