Can a scientific fact be changed?

Question

Can a scientific fact be changed?

Answer 1

of course. the earth isn't flat or the center of the universe is it? nope

Answer 2

yes

Answer 3

Of course.  New species are found almost every month. So, it was a Scientific Fact that a certain number of species of animals existed on Earth, and when another species is discovered.. that Scientific Fact changes.

Answer 4

yes but another scientific breakthrough that contradicts this certain fact would have to be discovered ^^^^^u follow =)

Answer 5

yes, if its disproven then of course. it used to be a scientific fact that the sun revolved around the earth, and obviously since thats not true, the fact was changed because contrary evidence was found

Answer 6

Since things constantly change, yes.

Btw, there is not a single thing that can be called a scientific fact. Only scientific theories since we can never know for sure due to the vastness of the universe.

Answer 7

only if the situation changes.  for example, it is a fact that the Earth revolves around the sun.  If you want to change that fact, you will have to make the Earth stop revolving around the sun.

Answer 8

Science is just as retarded as religion. So, yes.

Answer 9

it is stranger than fiction, some would say...

Answer 10

Well...Pluto isn't a planet anymore...

Answer 11

Only if it has been shown that it is not really a fact. Fact come from scientific experiments, if the experiment has a flaw, then the fact may be wrong if the flaw affects the data that fact is based upon. More common is that newer deeper looking experiments are performed and they reveal new information that is added to the old. The old is still valid, it's just that our perspective of it needs to be modifed to match the new findings.

One example is that before 1900s people assumed it was fact that the atom was indivisible. Then an experiment showed the existense of electrons which seemed to a part of an atom - something that didn't have parts. So then it became fact that the atom (now only used becuase no one wanted to change the name) is made up of a postive nucleus and electrons - until it was discovered that the nucleus had parts too. Then it was fact that the smallest parts of matter were protons neutrons and electrons - then we discovered quarks, and a plethora of other particles that were combinations of quarks that came about at high energy collisions.

So that's how scientific fact is changed. Rarely is it totally abanded such as the concept of space and time being to separate things or mass and energy being to separate things. These ideas that were assumed to be facts without proof were discarded once relativity theory and quantum physics proves that they were one and the same thing.

Answer 12

what we mean about it is so.

Answer 13

Of course a scientific fact can be change. For example:

During 2nd century A.D, Ptolemy, an Egyptian astronomer, believed that the earth was the center of the Universe and sun and stars revoved around it.

However, during 16th century, Copernicus, a polish astronomer, gathered accurate measurements on the movements of the planets. After making some calculations based on gathered measurements, he suggested that the planet, including the earth, orbiting the sun. In addition, the Sun was the centre of our solar system.

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Answer 14

facts are just observation in science. so yes. example fact that there are 6 planets in the solar system was changed to 7, 8, 9, then back to 8

Answer 15

i suppose if the factors change it could

Answer 16

if u r a mad scientist, absolutely

Answer 17

Of course. A scientific fact just refers to something that has a very good chance of being true. It's entirely impossible to prove something. For example, I could say that South America doesn't exist and if you haven't been there, you can't very well say that it does. It could be a world wide conspiracy for all you know. If you have been there I could accuse you of lying or being in on the conspiracy. By the way, sorry if you are from South America.

So since absolute fact can't exist you can change science.

Answer 18

I'm not a scientist, but I think the answer to this largely depends on what you consider a fact. Most scientists don't speak in absolutes. Usually they refer to what happens under specific conditions with specific inputs. And in many situations, changing one variable can change the result.

If you're talking about facts like a water molecule being composed of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom, that is unlikely to change. These types of facts are based on observations and measure that have been repeated over and over.

If you consider a fact to be something like the environment of a rain forest or the ocean, then yes, these facts can change. As the environment changes (environment being used a very broad sense, not just in terms of climate change or global warming), ecosystems and other systems must change and adapt. The net result of the changes may make the system completely different than it was before.

Answer 19

Hey,

Anything can be changed if you can prove otherwise, especially these days, i'm sure you could find tons of changes.

Denis

Answer 20

No. Facts are things that are true, even if we do not know them. If something that we consider to be a fact is proven untrue, then it was never a fact to begin with.

Answer 21

Of course.  Newtonian mechanics was the way things worked for three centuries -- until the Michelson-Morley experiment showed that Newton was wrong.  Einstein fixed things with the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905.

Answer 22

Happens all the time.  

Answer 23

well generally no, because it's a proven theory however if you notice some error in the fact then yes.

Theories can be changed in an instant.