“When we fail to question science at every turn, science ceases to exist…” A J Jinkins III
A fact is an event that can be proven to happen every time specified conditions exist. Thus, a fact is something that can be predicted with certainty barring any impediments to the study. A theory is a scientific construct based upon empirical data. A theory can be used as evidence of a claim based on empirical data, but may or may not be a fact. Thus, we might say that cigarettes have been shown to cause cancer in some smokers, but we may not say that cigarettes will cause cancer since not every person who smokes develops cancer. Millennials have a difficult time distinguishing between these two concepts.
I got into a “debate” with my nephew, a public school, brainwashed millennial, a few nights ago. The debate was over the concept of “man-made global warming.” I postulated that “man-made global warming” was a theory, and he blew up and started screaming at me in the theory’s defense. Now, understand that when an idea is classified as a theory, I am not discounting all probability or possibility of the theory having merit… I am simply saying the theory is, in fact, a theory, and not proven to be fact.
Two thousand years ago, every scientist agreed that the world was flat. If a scientist questioned this “fact” or disagreed in any manner, they were beheaded and charged with the crime of heresy. The Catholic church was in control of the scientific thought of the day, and the Catholic church wanted everyone to believe the world was flat, so it was…. Do we believe a different “fact” today?
Sixty years ago scientists got together and agreed that using marijuana, an hallucinogen, would cause a person to develop homicidal behavior. Today, nearly every scientist is developing data to suggest smoking marijuana has many medicinal benefits and far fewer risks and side effects than originally agreed upon. Twenty-four states have legalized medicinal and/or recreational marijuana based on the scientific community’s research.
For the past 20 years, former Vice-President Al Gore, armed with “factual data agreed upon by the majority of the scientific community”, ( a community which receives much of its funding for research from government sources), has left the comfort of his many mansions to fly around the world in his jet to spread the fear that all of the ice caps would melt by 2020 as a result of man-made global warming. Today there are more ice caps in existence than at any time in our recorded history, and we are told by many researchers that we will be exiting a warming trend and heading into a cooling trend.
Public policy, to include regulations and taxation, must not be implemented based on unproven data. In other words, if you can not factually prove that my automobile is creating a hole in the ozone layer, your government may not justify regulating my car or profiting through taxation from such a theory until that theory is proven as fact. To date, man-made global warming is theory because it has not been proven as fact, either by empirical data or conclusive predictability.
Does this mean that I do not believe we should do our utmost to preserve and protect our beloved earth? Of course I want every person to make responsible choices that protect the earth. My Bible tells me that I should be a good steward over all that I have been blessed with, including my environment. I recycle cans, oil, glass, plastic, and electronics because it is the wise and responsible thing to do. I still drive my car, though, out of necessity, and when Al Gore gives up his mansions, jets, and massive “carbon footprint”, then I will possibly consider lessening my own.
The tiny “hiccup” by Mt. St. Helens is reported to have emitted more fluorocarbons into the atmosphere than all of mankind has in our existence upon the planet. The hole in the ozone layer above the eruption site has already repaired itself according to many scientists. To believe that we are so powerful that our very existence is changing the earth, the weather patterns, the core of the planet to the degree the followers of the “Man-Made Global Warming” religion try to guilt us to believe is extremely arrogant and exhibits a phenomenal degree of hubris. Yes, our behavior has some impact, I am confident. However, the concept of “Man-made Global Warming” is still just a theory. Gravity is a fact. Climate change is a fact as the climate has proven for all of recorded history that it will change, with or without humans. Man-made Global Warming, like any religion, is merely a theory.
ajjinkins3 