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36 Examples of a Hypothesis![]() FalsifiabilityTraditionally, a hypothesis has to be falsifiable to conform to the scientific method. Falsifiability means that a test exists that can prove the hypothesis wrong. Falsifiability places the burden of proof on those who make claims. For example, "Aliens exist" isn't falsifiable because disproving this statement would require you to search every inch of the entire universe for life. This can be easily converted to the falsifiable "Aliens don't exist" whereby you can disprove the hypothesis by discovering a single alien.It should be noted that the falsifiability criterion is the subject of much debate, particularly in fields such as physics where theories are often constructed with logic such as induction. Likewise, several well known concepts that people think of as solid science are arguably not falsifiable. For example, "survival of the fittest" isn't particularly falsifiable as it's difficult to prove that some current species is less "fit" that than all other species that have gone extinct† .PointersThe examples above include science, social sciences, engineering and other disciplines such as business. There is no need to outline the details of an experiment in the hypothesis but it is necessary to be specific to what you actually intend to prove or disprove without being overly broad.It is tempting to frame a hypothesis as a question but it must be declarative as in the examples above. It feels strategy to make a declaration when you don't know if it is true. However, this is the point of a hypothesis to bravely state something that might be true or might be false.It is invalid to change your initial hypothesis in the midst of research as this is an important artifact that indicates where results were expected based on rational thought or unexpected and possibly a random correlation.Research without a hypothesis such as trying to find a pattern in data is likely to confuse correlation and causation. A common type of research fraud, is to automatically look for patterns in datasets and then fit a hypothesis to this pattern. This is known as data dredging.NotesDarwin defined natural selection as "better designed for an immediate, local environment" if fit is defined in this way, survival of the fittest is unfalsifiable††. However, modern biology tends to define fitness in terms of reproductive success. In this case, survival of the fittest can be accused of circular reasoning along the lines of "those with the most reproductive success have the most reproductive success."ExperimentsThis is the complete list of articles we have written about experiments.If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.
Footnotes† Hull, David. "What philosophy of biology is not." Journal of the History of Biology 2.1 (1969): 241-268.††Stephen Jay Gould, Darwin's Untimely Burial", 1976; from Philosophy of Biology:An Anthology, Alex Rosenberg, May 2009, pp. 99–102.
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