Casual and Scientific Use of "Theory" and "Law"

Summary

In this engaging video by Amoeba Sisters, the duo delves into the nuanced differences between the casual and scientific uses of the terms 'theory' and 'law.' They humorously recount a childhood curiosity about earthworms and puddles to illustrate how hypotheses are often mistaken for theories in everyday language. The video explains how scientific theories, unlike casual theories, are grounded in rigorous testing and evidence, highlighting the distinction further by contrasting scientific theories with scientific laws. These laws describe natural phenomena but don't explain them, unlike theories which provide explanations based on evidence. The video aims to clarify these scientific terms while encouraging viewers to explore more about the intriguing behavior of earthworms during rain.

Highlights

• Childhood curiosity about earthworms inspired early scientific thinking. 🌱
• The distinction between casual and scientific 'theories' is crucial for understanding science. 🧐
• Scientific theories are supported by evidence and repeated testing, unlike casual conjectures. ✅
• Theories and laws serve different purposes in science; one isn't superior to the other. ⚖️
• Mendel's genetic laws describe phenomena but don't explain DNA mechanics. 🧬

Key Takeaways

• Earthworms post-rain sparked childhood wonder, leading to early hypotheses, not theories. 🌧️
• Scientific theories require evidence and aren't just guesses or opinions. 🧪
• Theories don't 'graduate' into laws; they're distinct, with theories explaining and laws describing phenomena. 📏
• Mendel's laws in genetics describe natural phenomena, but like other scientific laws, don't offer explanations. 🌱
• Understanding the difference between scientific theories and laws is crucial for scientific literacy. 📚

Overview

As a child, curiosity often leads to fascinating yet incorrect conclusions, as exemplified by the puzzling behavior of earthworms post-rain. The video begins with a playful reminiscence of such childhood musings, where rescuing earthworms from puddles sparked early hypotheses, mistaken for theories. It's a reminder of the scientific curiosity inherent in everyday observations.

The Amoeba Sisters make a clear distinction between the casual and scientific uses of the terms 'theory' and 'law.' They explain that while people might refer to personal guesses as theories, in a scientific context, a theory is a robust explanation backed by evidence and repeated testing. This section highlights the importance of scientific rigor and clarity in language.

Scientific laws, like Newton's, describe natural phenomena and often include mathematical formulas but don't offer explanations. Theories, on the other hand, provide those explanations based on evidence. Mendel's laws of genetics are used as examples of laws that describe, not explain, which reinforces the distinct roles laws and theories play in the scientific world.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Captions Are On The chapter titled 'Captions Are On' begins with a discussion about the option to toggle captions on or off using the CC button at the bottom right of a screen. The speaker then delves into an anecdote from their youth, observing earthworms emerging after rain and ending up in puddles. This curiosity leads to a contemplation about why earthworms risk leaving the safety of soil. The chapter touches on the limitations of pre-Google information access and the speaker's childhood theories about the phenomenon.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Earthworm Puddle Wonder In the chapter titled 'Earthworm Puddle Wonder', the author explores whimsical ideas about why earthworms end up in puddles when it rains. The narrative suggests that earthworms may be drawn to water without realizing the danger of getting stuck in puddles. The rain possibly floods their underground tunnels, causing confusion, and leading them to surface in puddles instead of retreating deeper underground. The author humorously takes on the task of rescuing these stranded earthworms, adding this peculiar rescue task to their list of accomplishments, while acknowledging that their theories about earthworm behavior might not be accurate.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Developing Hypotheses The chapter titled 'Developing Hypotheses' discusses the distinction between hypotheses and theories. It starts by explaining how one might come up with ideas that could be used to develop a hypothesis, which is a suggested explanation that can be tested. The author reflects on their past, noting how their younger self would have confused these ideas with personal theories. The chapter highlights the common misuse of the term 'theory' in everyday language, where it often refers to an opinion or a hunch, rather than a scientifically tested explanation.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Casual vs Scientific Theory This chapter elaborates on the distinction between casual and scientific use of the term 'theory'. In everyday language, people often label a mere guess or personal belief as a 'theory', such as having a 'theory' about why there's a water stain on the ceiling or why sushi is amazing. However, in a scientific context, a theory holds a much more significant meaning. A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation devised from scientific evidence. It is robust with factual support and has undergone rigorous and repeated testing. The chapter emphasizes the importance of not conflating casual assumptions with scientific theories, mentioning that a deeper exploration of the scientific definition of a theory is available through an additional link.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Scientific Theory vs Law The chapter "Scientific Theory vs Law" explains the distinction between scientific theories and laws. A scientific theory should not be dismissed as "just a theory"; it represents a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of evidence. Scientific theories are supported by facts and evidence and are repeatedly tested. Examples include atomic theory, the theory of general relativity, and cell theory. While scientific theories can be disproven or modified, they remain essential components of scientific understanding.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Understanding Scientific Laws This chapter explores the difference in meaning between 'theory' and 'law' in a scientific context as opposed to casual use. It addresses a common misconception that theories can evolve into laws, clarifying that theories and laws are distinct entities that serve different roles in science. The chapter highlights that neither is more powerful than the other, despite the potentially misleading implications of the word 'law.'
• 04:00 - 05:00: Conclusion and Further Reading Conclusion and Further Reading: The chapter explains the distinction between scientific laws and theories. Scientific laws describe natural phenomena and are often represented mathematically, such as Newton's second law of motion. However, they do not explain why these phenomena occur. Scientific theories, on the other hand, provide explanations for these phenomena, highlighting the importance of both concepts in science.

Casual and Scientific Use of "Theory" and "Law" Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Captions are on! Click CC at bottom right to turn off. Some words used casually have different meanings than when used scientifically. I’m going to give you an example. When I was younger, I noticed that sometimes after it rained, I’d find earthworms in puddles. And I’d wonder---why are these earthworms coming out of the soil where they are safe and risking their very lives in these puddles?! I mean, I was pretty sure they didn’t like being in the puddles; they were getting stuck in them for some reason. Keep in mind this was before the age of googling information, and I came up with all kinds
• 00:30 - 01:00 of ideas. Maybe the earthworms actually were crazy about water, but they didn’t know how bad it was out there until they found themselves stuck in a puddle. Maybe when it rained, the water flooded their underground tunnels, but it somehow confused or disoriented them so instead of digging down they dug up, launching themselves into a puddle. Either way, it was my job to rescue them, because hey, earthworms are pretty cool. Something I can add to my resume. My ideas about why earthworms ventured out when it rained were not really correct.
• 01:00 - 01:30 If anything, maybe one of these ideas could have been used to develop a hypothesis, which I could have decided to test. A hypothesis can be defined as a suggested explanation that I could then test. But, see, back when I was a young kid, I would have told you that these were my own personal theories. And that’s the problem with this word “theory.” The word “theory” tends to be casually used in this way in everyday life all the time; I’m sure you’ve heard your friend say before, “I have a theory about that…” When using the word “theory” in everyday life, “theory” might be an opinion, hunch,
• 01:30 - 02:00 or guess. You might say you have a theory about why there is a water stain on a ceiling or why sushi is amazing but it’s important to understand that you are using the word “theory” very casually. See, a scientific theory is a very different thing. A scientific theory is an explanation supported by scientific evidence. It’s fortified by facts. It’s been tested, repeatedly. And if you want a more detailed definition of a scientific theory, we have a link in
• 02:00 - 02:30 our video details to recommend. The thing is, a scientific theory cannot be dismissed as “just a theory.” In order to reach the level of scientific theory, a scientific theory must be backed by science facts and evidence supporting it, with repeated testing. There are many theories in science. There’s a theory of the atom- atomic theory. There’s the theory of general relativity. There’s the cell theory that we frequently talk about in many of our videos. Now while scientific theories can be disproven or modified, it is important to understand
• 02:30 - 03:00 that the word “theory” in science has such a different meaning than the casual use of the word “theory.” When I was younger, I used to think that theories one day could graduate into laws. I think my misconception had something to do with me learning how a bill becomes a law and somehow I thought scientific theories followed a similar path. I’m really not sure where I got this misconception. But in case you have it too, scientific theories do not graduate into scientific laws. They can’t. Because they’re completely different things. One is not more powerful than the other either; the word “law” might sound more fancy
• 03:00 - 03:30 but it’s not---they truly are just different things. But they are both very important in science. Scientific laws tend to describe a natural phenomena; whereas a scientific theory can provide a scientific explanation for it. Many scientific laws are even represented mathematically. For example, Newton’s second law of motion shows how acceleration is related to the force and mass of the object. It can be written mathematically here. But as a law, it tends to describe…not explain why.
• 03:30 - 04:00 Since we tend to specialize more with biology, let’s not forget about Mendel’s laws. He’s often called the father of genetics: he has three laws that you can explore: law of the segregation of genes, law of independent assortment, and the law of dominance. These laws describe phenomena happening with his pea plant experiments. And while these laws each describe a natural phenomena, they don’t give an explanation of why the phenomena happens. As a side note, that actually would have been really hard to do as DNA wasn’t yet understood
• 04:00 - 04:30 in his time. Understanding how the casual use of the word “theory” differs from the scientific use of the word “theory”…as well as understanding how theories and laws are different things…are all really important in science. Sometimes I wish science had a different word from “theory” just because the casual everyday use of that word is so different from the scientific use of that word. And before we go…in case you also have had been curious this whole time about why earthworms may come out when it rains and may find themselves in puddles…check out some further reading
• 04:30 - 05:00 suggestions that mention different researcher hypotheses in the video description. It’s pretty fascinating. Well, that’s it for the Amoeba Sisters, and we remind you to stay curious.