Matters of Fact Part 2: The Fact Is...
Originally posted on Medium, 3/22/2017
To understand the world, it’s crucial to understand what fact is, and what it is not.
Fact is something that cannot be changed or denied, something indisputable. ‘Water is wet’ is a fact. It is something provable via evidence, something that is tested with the same results after each test. Anything not proven or disputable is theory, hypothesis, or opinion.
What’s the difference? I’ll apply the definitions of the scientific method to explain:
A theory, in scientific terms, is a set of principles and related facts that are assembled into a concise view of a subject. The theory of relativity, for example, postulates that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, and that all laws of physics are constant for non-accelerating observers. It covers a number of facts and understandings about physics into a single view that applies to all.
A hypothesis is something that one believes to be true, but is not yet proven via tests. A hypothesis is what begins any scientific research and investigation. A sample: ‘There may be a galaxy that mirrors our own.’ Evidence to suggest the hypothesis has merit exists — that’s what makes it hypothesis and not opinion. It is not, however, yet proven with pure fact. It has a great deal of evidence behind it, however, which gives it much more gravity than most people would assume from the common-parlance use of the word ‘hypothesis.’
Opinion is any idea one believes or espouses without pure-fact rationale. It is a set of personal conclusions. Opinion is often based on fact, but it is not only a construct of fact but personal bias, experience, and other factors. Someone not exposed to the breadth of fact will have an opinion that is based only on what s/he knows or sees.
How do you tell them apart?
If it’s accepted as true by the vast majority of aware and unbiased people, has proof, cannot be refuted with fact, and has held up to tests of veracity consistently, it is fact.
If it is a collection of facts about a topic that gives a general understanding of how those facts work together as a system, it is theory.
If it is an idea with relevant testing in proof and observation that follows from a series of related facts assembled for relevance, it is a hypothesis.
If it is none of these, it is opinion.
I am not saying that any of these is valueless; what I am saying is that knowing which one of these you are facing is important in knowing how to process information.
📡 Another Planet’s Hell
To understand the world, it’s crucial to understand what fact is, and what it is not.
Fact is something that cannot be changed or denied, something indisputable. ‘Water is wet’ is a fact. It is something provable via evidence, something that is tested with the same results after each test. Anything not proven or disputable is theory, hypothesis, or opinion.
What’s the difference? I’ll apply the definitions of the scientific method to explain:
A theory, in scientific terms, is a set of principles and related facts that are assembled into a concise view of a subject. The theory of relativity, for example, postulates that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, and that all laws of physics are constant for non-accelerating observers. It covers a number of facts and understandings about physics into a single view that applies to all.
A hypothesis is something that one believes to be true, but is not yet proven via tests. A hypothesis is what begins any scientific research and investigation. A sample: ‘There may be a galaxy that mirrors our own.’ Evidence to suggest the hypothesis has merit exists — that’s what makes it hypothesis and not opinion. It is not, however, yet proven with pure fact. It has a great deal of evidence behind it, however, which gives it much more gravity than most people would assume from the common-parlance use of the word ‘hypothesis.’
Opinion is any idea one believes or espouses without pure-fact rationale. It is a set of personal conclusions. Opinion is often based on fact, but it is not only a construct of fact but personal bias, experience, and other factors. Someone not exposed to the breadth of fact will have an opinion that is based only on what s/he knows or sees.
How do you tell them apart?
If it’s accepted as true by the vast majority of aware and unbiased people, has proof, cannot be refuted with fact, and has held up to tests of veracity consistently, it is fact.
If it is a collection of facts about a topic that gives a general understanding of how those facts work together as a system, it is theory.
If it is an idea with relevant testing in proof and observation that follows from a series of related facts assembled for relevance, it is a hypothesis.
If it is none of these, it is opinion.
I am not saying that any of these is valueless; what I am saying is that knowing which one of these you are facing is important in knowing how to process information.
📡 Another Planet’s Hell
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