Evolution: Theory, Law, or Fact?
Evolution is often decried as 'theoretical' because the term 'theory' is attached to it. Scientists use the word 'Theory' in a very different way than other people do. It is much more similar to a mathematical 'Theorem' than it is to the traditional use of the word 'theory'. Hopefully you remember high school geometry, but in case you don't, here is a refresher on the Pythagorean Theorem: On any right triangle (a triangle with one 90 degree angle) the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides, and this is reflected in the formula a² + b² = c². No matter what, each and every right triangle abides by this theorem. Every time it has been tested, it has given the correct result. The theorem would be easily falsified (proven wrong) if a single right triangle was found that did not exhibit the dimensions predicted by the theorem. Of course, this is entirely unlikely, if not impossible, so ...