skullaria wrote:

I mean - come on - what a CONFUSING WORD. THEORY. Maybe we should say Theory(1) or Theory(2). But then, we'd have to figure out which DICTIONARY to use, because they all present the word meanings in different orders. So strike that.

No - let's just strike THEORY from the Science Vocabulary and come up with something ELSE. It is not concise enough for science in the modern world.

Here I am....never thought **I** would advocate changing the common use of a word.

I think qualifiers might work. Such as "Scientific theory" as opposed to "conspiracy theory." There is a level of rationality associated with scientific reasoning. Use whatever qualifier or word you might like, some religious groups will always see their reasoning as more logical than any science or conspiracy will ever hope to be. The concept that religion relates the truth of the universe is not a new one. The problem in general is that most really don't explain any truth and logical scientific truths are often contrary to "religious fact." The Mormons, for instance, are in a crisis because its been proven beyond any doubt that there is no Jew DNA in Native American Indians. This raises serious questions about the faith of such a religion. Some religions will never be able to reconcile that the laws of nature and the laws of god are not related. Some treat this dilemma as Science is just another religion, so the conflict can be disregarded as with all other religions one is not apart of. The problem is that they refuse to acknowledge that their truth is based in mythology rather than reason because it would obviously put their knowledge into a position of inferiority. They will never admit to being stupid, and science must.

RE: The Word Theory Must be Stricken from Scientific Thought