# Kooks’ week on the SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 12, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919 "2004-03-12T16:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/21 "2004-03-13T16:17:39Z")
Misunderstanding, ignorance, what difference right? 😉 As long as I can be of service. I usually just say the old “Scientific theory is not equal to bar room speculation type theory.” I felt a link would be better though. As for the theory standing untill proven wrong, a major part of a science is that _science does not prove anything_, only offers evidence of something, and a key point of science is that it is falsifiable. Meaning it is waiting for something to come along and prove it wrong. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/22 "2004-03-13T17:39:11Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > I can’t speak for the rest of the SDMB but I have been found wanting in the brain department a few times since I signed up for a whaling thread, and I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. {_scoff!_} Even a kook knows you can’t catch a whale with a thread! ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/23 "2004-03-13T18:44:08Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > I just thought it wasn’t fair to criticise people for not believing something that hasn’t been proven. What about the atomic theory of matter, or the germ theory of disease? ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/24 "2004-03-13T18:56:53Z")
Well, it is a far cry from saying “it isn’t proven” to, “although it isn’t proven (i.e not falsifiable), there are volumes of evidence supporting it.” Now a days there is enough evidence to support theories named above to erase all doubt in the minds of those that care learn the material. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/25 "2004-03-13T19:10:50Z")
In theory. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Green\_Feather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@The\_Green\_Feather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Green_Feather)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/26 "2004-03-14T18:10:09Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > {_scoff!_} > > Even a kook knows you can’t catch a whale with a thread! You start with one really humongus thread, then you search for the tiny whales… It will keep _some_ of the kooks busy. At least for a while. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/27 "2004-03-14T21:56:31Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > What about the atomic theory of matter, or the germ theory of disease? Theory of Gravity, too. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/28 "2004-03-16T16:55:16Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > What about the atomic theory of matter, or the germ theory of disease? I’m not crazy about those, either. > [@](#): > > Theory of Gravity, too. I GET IT. Really. What is this, Tease the Foreigner day? The theories of Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics are a tad newer than the Theory of Gravity anyway… fuck it. Consider me corrected and ridiculed. _wanders off to read the dictionary again_ ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/29 "2004-03-16T17:11:13Z")
**UselessGit** , the problem you have (which is quite common by the way) is that you are confusing the words “theory” and “hypothesis”. In common speech, when you say “I have a theory”, that means you’re not so sure. It’s not a total guess, but it’s not fact either. In a scientific context, though, this is called a “hypothesis”. A theory consists of taking a bunch of individual facts and observations and arranging them in a coherent whole. When we’re talking about evolution theory, for instance, evolution, DNA, etc. aren’t questioned - those are observations, facts. What the theory tries to do is show how these observations are related. Theories are never “upgraded” to something more certain. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/30 "2004-03-16T17:39:46Z")
Let’s not forget **Aldebaran** threatening other posters in [GD] > **[Viva Espana ! I’m impressed by your courage and determination.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245368)** > > The Spanish people has my most honest admiration. They showed the whole world how democracy works and how to react when terrorism hits a country and its citizens. They have lived with this threat and reality since decades, yet showed on a most... ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919/31 "2004-03-20T16:02:43Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > **UselessGit** , the problem you have (which is quite common by the way) is that you are confusing the words “theory” and “hypothesis”. > > In common speech, when you say “I have a theory”, that means you’re not so sure. It’s not a total guess, but it’s not fact either. > > In a scientific context, though, this is called a “hypothesis”. > > A theory consists of taking a bunch of individual facts and observations and arranging them in a coherent whole. > > When we’re talking about evolution theory, for instance, evolution, DNA, etc. aren’t questioned - those are observations, facts. What the theory tries to do is show how these observations are related. > > Theories are never “upgraded” to something more certain. Sorry to bump an old thread, just wanted to thank you, **Jovan** for clearing that up for me. Hy-po-the-sis… I’ll make a note of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kooks-week-on-the-sdmb/233919.md?page=1)