Fact vs. Theory vs. Hypothesis vs. Law… EXPLAINED!

This video should be required watching at all public high schools.

Well, science is a lot like evolution by natural selection. It's survival of the fittest hypothesis.

My theory is that I've been misusing this word my whole life. No ... Wait ... That's a fact.

The problem is that many people aren't intellectually honest enough to accept certain facts, and dismiss them as opinions :'(

finally someone made this video. Been asking around if one of the bigger science channels could address these terms. And I must say: brilliantly done. Not that my sign of approval means much, but still wanted to say that I truly appreciate it

But hey, that's just a theory... A SCIENCE THEORY! Thanks for watching!

Really excellent video! Thanks. 59-year-old Electrical Engineer here. Even with my reasonably substantial scientific and technological education, I have to confess that these terms have been a little muddled in my mind! To clarify, though... The emphasis of this video is that a Scientist’s definition of a “Theory” is very different from a police detective’s definition! That’s a really excellent distinction, but I in particular did know and already understood a Scientific Theory very well. I have largely equated “Theory” with “Model” — the explanation. What this video clarified for me was the terms “fact” and “Law,” and how they relate to the Theory. I hadn’t heard those terms particularly clearly defined before! Newtonian gravity is definitely an excellent example: A scientific fact is just a distinct piece of wisdom that we all accept as true, like that objects near the surface of the Earth fall accelerating at a rate of ~9.8 m/s/s. This fact, in itself, does not involve explanation — it’s not about “how” or “why,” but just “what,” is true. The Law of Newtonian Gravity is F=Gm1m2/r^2. That is not an individual fact like 9.8m/s/s, nor is it the actual Theory — the explanation — itself, but it’s a reliable formula based upon the Theory. The Theory of Newtonian Gravity — which by the way, is clearly known to be flat-out wrong, but is an extremely good approximation — is Gravitational Fields. That is not a distinct fact nor a formula; it is the model — the underlying logic.

I like this video because it shines a light on the philosophy from which Science stems. You cannot derive absolute truth from Science however it is the best tool we currently have to make a best attempt at trying to make sense of the physical world around us.

Can we have "WE DID A SCIENCE!" as a T-shirt please?

You don't confirm Hypothesis you fail to reject them.

Theories back then: EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION! Theories now: JaR jAr BiNkS iS a SiTh LoRd

me when i make carbon dioxide from tree air "WE DID A SCIENCE"

Don't you mean "I LIKE THAT HYPOTHESIS"

But hey! Thats just a hypothesis... a game hypothesis!

Who else is here because of school?

This was exactly what I was looking for. You're never too old to learn.

Amazing job on the video, Joe. This very topic is something I come across the lot when dealing with semantics and linguistics in and around the field of anthropology. Within different contexts, words like theory have a very different meaning and often I find individuals who try to devalue anything that has the term "theory" in it very often don't understand the complexity of the terminology. This is probably one of my favorite videos you and your team have made. I was going to make my own version but it seems you hit the nail right on the head! Great work, have a good one!

Well I'm guessing "game hypothesis" just didn't sound as good.

very very very very very good

Why does the background music makes me feel like I understood everything even though I might have not. Lol