Letter: Evolution is a theory, and something more – The Ledger

WednesdayNov6,2019at12:05AM

In his Oct. 30 letter, "For some, evolution is still a theory," Frank Langford argued that evolution has not yet been proven; it's still a theory.

Langford might be surprised to learn that every competent scientist would agree with him. Of course evolution is a theory. So is gravity.

Langford is confusing the scientific terms "hypothesis" (an unproven guess) and "theory" (an explanation that can be used to make predictions).

Gravity is a theory, meaning that scientists can use their knowledge of gravity to make predictions. For example, scientists used the theory of gravity to declare that black holes long existed - before they had the technology to find those black holes in space.

Similarly scientists have long used the theory of evolution to predict natural phenomena that haven't been discovered yet.

Jean Reynolds, Ph.D., Winter Haven

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Letter: Evolution is a theory, and something more - The Ledger