Done Quote by Marvin Harris

[Theory is] an explanation that has been confirmed to such a degree, by observation and experiment, that knowledgeable experts accept it as fact. That's…

— David Quammen

“The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some…

— National Academy of Sciences

We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. [This is]…

— Robert Shapiro

But some of these theories are so bold that they can clash with reality: they are the testable theories of science. And when they…

— Karl Popper

A theory is only as good as its assumptions. If the premises are false, the theory has no real scientific value. The only scientific…

— Maurice Allais

A theory is scientific only if it can be disproved. But the moment you try to cover absolutely everything the chances are that you…

— Hermann Bondi

The common idea that scientists reject a theory as soon as it leads to a contradiction is just not so. When they get something…

— Vannevar Bush

If you can't think of an observation that could disprove a theory, that theory simply isn't scientific.

— Jerry A. Coyne

Most people like to believe something is or is not true. Great scientists tolerate ambiguity very well. They believe the theory enough to go…

— Richard Hamming

The incorrectness and weaknesses of a theory cause other minds to formulate the problems more exactly and in this way scientific progress is made.

— Robert Barany

A theory not only explains the world we see, it lets us imagine other worlds, and, even more significantly, lets us act to create…

— Alison Gopnik

If the theory accurately predicts what they [scientists] see, it confirms that it's a good theory. If they see something that the theory didn't…

— Clayton Christensen