--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In science, if an idea is not…" description: "\"In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it is wrong, and thus it is not even wrong.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg" --- # In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that… ![“In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it is wrong, and thus it is not even wrong.” quote by Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg) > “In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it is wrong, and thus it is not even wrong.” [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unfalsifiable ideas cannot be proven wrong, so they remain beyond scientific judgment. **In simple terms:** Ideas that can't be tested stay unverified. Key Takeaway Focus on testable hypotheses. Themes science falsifiability knowledge Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research design - policy making - education Key Concepts philosophy of science epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess such ideas? - Can non‑falsifiable concepts still guide action? A Different Perspective Some claims may be meaningful despite lacking falsifiability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Determine Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine-wrong-4137706/) [Falsifiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsifiable/) [Falsifiable Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsifiable-wrong-4137705/) [Idea Falsifiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-falsifiable-4137704/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-idea-3088952/) ## Related quotes > [There are three creative ideas which, each in its turn, have been central to science. They are the idea of order, the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/there-are-three-creative-ideas-which-each-in-its-turn-have-been/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/in-so-far-as-a-scientific-statement-speaks-about-reality-it-must-be/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“If they had been, explained Falk, they would have had to come up with a falsifiable hypothesis. For instance, if the hypothesis is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-brafman/if-they-had-been-explained-falk-they-would-have-had-to-come-up-with-a/) [Ori Brafman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-brafman/) > [“Science, however, is never conducted as a popularity contest, but instead advances through testable, reproducible, and falsifiable theories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/science-however-is-never-conducted-as-a-popularity-contest-but/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“A good scientific law or theory is falsifiable just because it makes definite claims about the world. For the falsificationist, If follows fairly readily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-f-chalmers/a-good-scientific-law-or-theory-is-falsifiable-just-because-it-makes/) [Alan F. Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-f-chalmers/) > [“The difficulties connected with my criterion of demarcation (D) are important, but must not be exaggerated. It is vague, since it is a methodological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-difficulties-connected-with-my-criterion-of-demarcation-d-are/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“Not only are there meaningless questions, but many of the problems with which the human intellect has tortured itself turn out to be only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/not-only-are-there-meaningless-questions-but-many-of-the-problems/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The problem with intelligent-design theory, is not that it is false but that it is not falsifiable. Not being susceptible to contradicting evidence, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-problem-with-intelligent-design-theory-is-not-that-it-is-false/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Methodological naturalism is a “ground rule” of science today which requires scientists to seek explanations in the world around us based upon what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-pennock/methodological-naturalism-is-a-ground-rule-of-science-today-which/) [Robert T. Pennock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-pennock/) > [Falsifiability for a theory is great, but a theory can still be respectable even if it is not falsifiable, as long as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/falsifiability-for-a-theory-is-great-but-a-theory-can-still-be/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [A good scientific theory is one which is falsifiable, which has not been falsified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-good-scientific-theory-is-one-which-is-falsifiable-which-has-not/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Science does not limit itself merely to what is currently verifiable. But it is interested in questions that are potentially verifiable (or, rather, falsifiable).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/science-does-not-limit-itself-merely-to-what-is-currently-verifiable/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“We are talking about a programme which claims that ‘processed foods do not contain water’, possibly the single most rapidly falsifiable statement I’ve seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/we-are-talking-about-a-programme-which-claims-that-processed-foods-do/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [Science is defined in various ways, but today it is generally restricted to something which is experimental, which is repeatable, which can be predicted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lang/science-is-defined-in-various-ways-but-today-it-is-generally/) [Walter Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lang/) > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) ## More by Michael Shermer > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“According to Dembski, for example, “scientific creationism has prior religious commitments whereas intelligent design does not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/according-to-dembski-for-example-scientific-creationism-has-prior/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Mind is just a word we use to describe neural activity in the brain. No brain, no mind. We know this because if a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/mind-is-just-a-word-we-use-to-describe-neural-activity-in-the-brain/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Through no divine design or cosmic plan, we have inherited the mantle of life's caretaker on the earth, the only home we have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/through-no-divine-design-or-cosmic-plan-we-have-inherited-the-mantle/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [I always accepted the libertarian position of minimum regulation in the sale and use of firearms because I placed guns under the beneficial rubric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-always-accepted-the-libertarian-position-of-minimum-regulation-in/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [If spirituality is the sense of awe and humility in the face of the creation, what could be more awesome and humbling than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/if-spirituality-is-the-sense-of-awe-and-humility-in-the-face-of-the/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [We know evolution happened not because of transitional fossils such as A. natans but because of the convergence of evidence from such diverse fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/we-know-evolution-happened-not-because-of-transitional-fossils-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Yet basically, libertarians are for freedom and liberty for individuals, while recognizing that in order to be free we must also be protected. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/yet-basically-libertarians-are-for-freedom-and-liberty-for/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Scientists like Bjorn Lomborg in The Skeptical Environmentalist have, in my opinion, properly nailed environmental extremists for these exaggerated scenarios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/scientists-like-bjorn-lomborg-in-the-skeptical-environmentalist-have/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [When religious believers invoke miracles and acts of creation ex nihilo, that is the end of the search for them, whereas for scientists, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/when-religious-believers-invoke-miracles-and-acts-of-creation-ex/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Darwin matters because evolution matters. Evolution matters because science matters. Science matters because it is the preeminent story of our age, an epic saga…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/darwin-matters-because-evolution-matters-evolution-matters-because/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/skepticism-is-not-a-position-that-you-stake-out-ahead-of-time-and/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Neuroscientist David Comings drew out the larger implications of such hallucinations for the relationship between our rational and spiritual brains: The psychedelic drugs like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/neuroscientist-david-comings-drew-out-the-larger-implications-of-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) [Explore all 160 Michael Shermer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## More Determine quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/thought-determines-action-do-not-let-your-whole-life-be-a-reaction-to/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/determine-to-do-some-thinking-for-yourself-don-t-live-entirely-upon/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [Choices determine character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/choices-determine-character/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [We must recognize that every nation determines its policies in terms of its own interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-must-recognize-that-every-nation-determines-its-policies-in-terms/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [The enmity of such a party towards Socialism does not mean that the members are only prejudiced against it because they do not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-radek/the-enmity-of-such-a-party-towards-socialism-does-not-mean-that-the/) [Karl Radek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-radek/) > [It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-the-consciousness-of-men-that-determines-their-being-but-on/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Running gives freedom. When you run you can determine your own tempo. You can choose your own course and think whatever you want. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-kuscsik/running-gives-freedom-when-you-run-you-can-determine-your-own-tempo/) [Nina Kuscsik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-kuscsik/) > [I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-allen/i-ve-ultimately-decided-that-i-will-not-play-this-nba-season-i-m/) [Ray Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-allen/) > [The things you do determine the way people perceive you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-things-you-do-determine-the-way-people-perceive-you/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) [Browse all 2,194 Determine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it is wrong, and thus it is not even wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Shermer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable-it-is-not-that-it-is-wrong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Determine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable-it-is-not-that-it-is-wrong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/michael-shermer-2567_determine_in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable_481233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it…” — Michael Shermer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Shermer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In science, if an idea is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable-it-is-not-that-it-is-wrong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/in-science-if-an-idea-is-not-falsifiable-it-is-not-that-it-is-wrong/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```