Reply #207: Misconception about the nature of science

[muse]

The nature of science does not mean that you have to experimentally reproduce something in order for it to be true. Much of science is proven because it is observable or because data was collected, not because an experiment was conducted over and over again like you learned in high school (the so called "scientific method"). Think about the geologic record or what we know about astronomy. The things we know about these subjects are not because we have run the types of experiments that you talk about, but because of observations and data that have proven to be true repeatedly.

I refer you to the National Science Teachers Association position paper on the teaching of evolution for further information:

http://nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=10

I also refer you to the American Association for the Advancement of Science Project 2061 on the Nature of Science:

http://www.project2061.org/tools/sfaaol/chap1.htm