Quote from: OmegaZilla on Mar 11, 2010, 01:18:50 PM
It's open up to theories.
No, it isn't. In order for it to be, the theories would have to be:
Consistent
Parsimonious (sparing in its proposed entities or explanations)
Useful (describes and explains observed phenomena, and can be used predictively)
Empirically testable and falsifiable
Based on multiple observations, often in the form of controlled, repeated experiments
Correctable and dynamic (modified in the light of observations that do not support it)
Progressive (refines previous theories)
Provisional or tentative (is open to experimental checking, and does not assert certainty)
For any theory, hypothesis or conjecture to be considered scientific, it must meet most, and ideally all, of these criteria. The fewer criteria are met, the less scientific it is; and if it meets only a few or none at all, then it cannot be treated as scientific in any meaningful sense of the word.
The
existence of Nessie alone meets only
one criterion. Kinda hard to form a theory when its subject is MIA.
