A theory is basically the ability to explain a phenomenon. There are two uses of the word theory. One is a personal use of the word, something you find in every day life. The second is the scientific use, which is a bit different and less known outside of the scientific circles.
When we think up ideas to explain some phenomenon we encounter, we will make up a theory that can explain it. Usually, this means, guessing a bit, sometimes by using some of the surrounding evidence to support our guess.
For example. If we find a tree that had fallen on the road, we could guess that it might have been cut down. Or perhaps it was broken by a storm. We could use what we know and see, to make a guess (or multiple) to the reasons of the tree being on the road. This means we’re basically making theories on that specific phenomenon.
This is a personal use of the word theory. Any one of the theories could be right or wrong.
In science, the word theory is something different. In science, a theory has little to do with guesses, and more with accumulated evidence.
A scientific theory is still an explanation for a phenomenon. But it’s an explanation that has accumulated so much evidence supporting it, that the chance of that explanation being wrong, is really small.
On top of that, the evidence that is gathered, is repeatable, consists of experiments or data that can be repeated and rechecked as needed, thus building a solid base of support for the explanation.
If one were to do a lab test, and would repeat that same test 1000 times. One would get 1000 results of that specific lab tests. If 980 out of those 1000 results point to the same result. One can say that this result is very solid. One can say that doing the test another time is probably going to end up with the same result, with a very low chance of the result being different.
This is, in simple words, how theories function. You have a lot of data, from many different fields of science (biology, paleontology, etc) that all support the scientific theory of evolution.
Thus, the chance of a new piece of data, a new result, a new piece of information, coming along and being different, is nearly zero.
There’s more to it than that of course. Because even though the whole theory is a sturdy mass of evidence, it doesn’t mean that small parts of it aren’t revised if more accurate information comes along.
A way to look at it. Is like looking at a really complicated tree. It has branches all the way up, that we still haven’t discovered, that tell us things about the tree. But whatever we find, the tree is still a tree. It won’t change the tree. It’ll only change our understanding of those branches and how the fit with the tree.
There’s one more factor that makes a scientific theory different from a personal one. And that is the power to make predictions.
Based on information that has been gathered before. Predictions can be made about more information that is found.
Predictions are a powerful tool, because they help validate the theory in two ways:
1. If information is found that doesn’t follow the prediction, than the prediction and the explanation it is based on, obviously has errors and the explanation can be changed and edited to make it more accurate.
2. If the prediction does hold ground, it’s a validation of the strength of the theory.
And that is the difference between a scientific theory and a personal theory.Keep in mind, that this means that when a scientist (or anyone) uses the word theory. It doesn’t automatically make it a scientific topic
