Cofty, I have said what I wanted to say. You can use that in your new thread. From there I will view your information and add what I deem necessary. Let’s not make hard and fast rules that we cannot keep. Perhaps one should lay the groundwork first and establish basic definitions, and work from there. This will be of assistance to those following the thread. Scientific method starts with the postulation of a theory or hypothesis. The process would include observation and accumulation of evidence. From these a theory or hypothesis could either be proved or rejected.
Hypothesis,
theory, law mean a formula derived by inference from scientific data that
explains a principle operating in nature. Hypothesis implies insufficient evidence
to provide more than a tentative explanation (a hypothesis explaining the
extinction of the dinosaurs). Theory implies a
greater range of evidence and greater likelihood of truth (the theory of
evolution). Law implies a statement of order and relation in nature that has
been found to be invariable under the same conditions (the law of gravitation).
See Webster.
