Cl1mh4224rd; said:
...the hell? How does using definitions of hypothesis refute my claim about the definition of theory? Truly bizarre.
Not really very bizarre IMO, I suspect that you are only looking at this matter in just one way. With an apparently very strongly held belief that you are "definitively correct", from viewing one source or opinion on "word definitions". Lexicographical definitions can vary, depending on which lexicographer that you may feel like choosing. Some alternative people (dictionary compilers) evidently can regard "theories and hypotheses" as synonyms.
I think that your argument with me over this, IMO rather trivial matter, illustrates nicely my theory about how some people appear to crave "certainty" ("truth, fact, knowledge") in their lives. I do not crave certainty. I think that you seem to want there to be "absolute certainty" about word definitions (at least?), but actually language can apparently "mutate" ("evolve"?) over time and thus generally widely accepted definitions can "morph" over time. Naturally it helps communication if and when two minds-entities are attempting to interact, in the same "language", they can mutually agree on what they mean by the use of the "words" that they use. If I use the word "table" but the image in your mind is what I call a "chair", then genuinely meaningful communication probably becomes rather difficult IMO. That would not be to insist, definitively, that my definition would be correct (TRUE) and that yours was wrong (FALSE), I would hope that you understand. You appear to me to insist that in your mind "theory and hypothesis" are not synonymous, when I had initially suggested (uncontroversial I had thought at the time) that they were, in my opinion. You are free to have your opinion that they are not synonyms and I think that I am free to remain thinking that they are synonyms. Perhaps we can simply agree to differ, if nothing else.
theory
noun
1. a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory"
2. a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices"
[syn: hypothesis]
3. a belief that can guide behavior; "the architect has a theory that more is less"; "they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales"
Synonyms:
1.
Theory, hypothesis are used in non-technical contexts to mean an untested idea or opinion. A theory in technical use is a more or less verified or established explanation accounting for known facts or phenomena: the theory of relativity. A hypothesis is a conjecture put forth as a possible explanation of phenomena or relations, which serves as a basis of argument or experimentation to reach the truth: This idea is only a hypothesis.
