How can you tell if something is based on science?

Answer 1

Partly true. It's a semantics issue with the answer.

What we call science is the result of knowledge gained from the scientific method.

Science goes through a four-step process:

1) Observation

2) Hypothesis

3) Prediction

4) Testing

First step: A phenomenon is observed e.g. apple falling to the ground.

Second step: a conjecture/hypothesis that is testable is made e.g. 1) something must be constantly pulling or pushing the apple down to the ground.

Third step: If the hypothesis is true, then everything that gets thrown upwards, falls downwards due to the unseen force.

Fourth step: Test it experimentally by throwing different stuff in the air and observing the results.

The fourth step is what is referred to as evidence. But more primarily, it is based on observation of the natural world, and testing, to gain evidence.

The problem here is that: what has been hypothesized may not be entirely true, it is just not proven false yet.

You can read more about the difference of the terms "hypothesis", "theory", and "Laws" to know more.

Answer 2

The more you know about science, the better prepared you will be to judge if any specific assertion is scientifically valid. Beyond that, when someone talks about some new discovery or theory, you can go back to the original paper which describes it (these things can be found on the internet) and you can see if the evidence and reasoning which are presented in that paper appear to be scientifically valid. You can also see what the general consensus of the scientific community will turn out to be. Something that is generally rejected by scientists is almost certainly not scientific.

Answer 3

Yes, it is very true.