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Predictive power

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	Topics Predictive power Topic Home The predictive power of a scientific theory refers to its ability to generate testableFacts About Testability Testability, a property applying to an empirical hypothesis, involves two components: the logical property that is variousl... predictions. Theories with strong predictive power are highly valued, because the predictions can often encourage the falsificationFalsifiability In science and the philosophy of science, *falsifiability, contingency, and defeasibility* are roughly... of the theory. The concept of predictive power differs from explanatory or descriptive power (where phenomena that are already known are retrospectively explained by a given theory) in that it allows a prospective test of theoretical understanding. Scientific ideas that do not confer any predictive power are considered at best "conjectureConjecture In mathematics, a conjecture is a mathematical statement which appears likely to be true, but has not been formally pr... s", or at worst "pseudosciencePseudoscience A pseudoscience is any body of alleged knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that claims to be scientific but does not... ". Because they cannot be tested or falsified in any way, there is no way to determine whether they are true or false, and so they do not gain the status of "scientific theory". Theories whose "predictive power" presupposes technologies that are not currently possible constitute something of a grey area. For example, certain aspects of string theoryString theory String theory is a model of fundamental physics whose building blocks are one-dimensional extended objects rather than the ... have been labeled as predictive, but only through the use of machines that have not yet been built and in some cases may never be possible. Whether or not this sort of theory can or should be considered truly predictive is a matter of scientific and philosophical debate. Examples A classic example of the predictive power of a theory is the Discovery of NeptuneDiscovery of Neptune The discovery of the planet Neptune remains notable because it resulted from theoretical prediction of the existence of a ma... as a result of predictions made by mathematicians John Couch AdamsJohn Couch Adams John Couch Adams, was a British mathematician and astronomer.... and Urbain Le VerrierUrbain Le Verrier Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier was a French mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics.... , based on Newton's theory of gravity. Other examples of predictive power of theories or models include Dmitri MendeleevDmitri Mendeleev Dimitri Mendeleev , was a Russian chemist.... 's use of his periodic tablePeriodic table The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular method of displaying the chemical elements, first devised in 1869 b... to predict previously undiscovered chemical elementChemical element Summary A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other... s and their properties (though largely correct, he misjudged the relative atomic masses of telluriumTellurium Tellurium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Te and atomic number 52.... and iodineIodine Iodine , is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol I and atomic number 53.... ), and Charles DarwinCharles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species o... 's use of his knowledge of evolutionEvolution In biology, evolution is the change in the heritable traits of a population over successive generations, as determined by sh... by natural selectionNatural selection Natural selection is the process by which individual organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduc... to predict that because there existed a plant (AngraecumAngraecum *Angraecum* Bory, 1804 contains 221 species, some of the most magnificent of all orchids.... ) with a long spur in its flowers, a complementary animal with a 30 cm proboscisProboscis In general, a proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal.... must also exist to feed on and pollinate it (twenty years after his death, a form of hawk moth was found which did just that). Another example of predictive power is the prediction of EinsteinAlbert Einstein Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist.... 's General Theory of Relativity that the path of light would bend in the presence of a strong gravitational field. This was experimentally verifiedTests of general relativity Tests of Einstein's general theory of relativity did not provide an experimental foundation for the theory until well after ... by an expedition to SobralSobral Overview Sobral is a name common in the Portuguese may refer to a Portuguese surname or toponym:... in BrazilBrazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest and most populous country in South America, and ... and the AtlanticAtlantic Ocean Summary The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface.... island of PríncipePríncipe Prncipe is the smaller of the two major islands of So Tom and Prncipe.... to measure star positions during the solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, when observations made by the astrophysicist Arthur Eddington seemed to confirm Einstein's predictions. Although the measurements have been criticized by some as utilizing flawed methodology, modern reanalysis of the data suggests that Eddington's analysis of the data was accurate. Later, more precise measurements taken by radioRadio astronomy Radio astronomy is the study of celestial phenomena through measurement of the characteristics of radio waves emitted by ph... interferometryInterferometry Interferometry is the science of combining two or more waves, which are said to interfere with each other.... confirmed the predictions to a high degree of accuracy. Applications The predictive power of a theory is closely related to applications. General relativity not only predicts the bending of light, but also predicts several other phenomena. Recently, the calculation of proper timeFacts About Proper time Proper time is time as measured by the clock for an observer who is traveling through spacetime.... of satelliteSatellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object .... s has been a successf prediction, now incorporated into the method used to calculate positions via GPS. If a theory has no predictive power, it cannot be used for applications.