Here a link to an Opinion piece in the SciAM. Worth a read along with responses. Thinking this and its implications broadly for establishment and testing, and use of science.
The Idea That a Scientific Theory Can Be ‘Falsified’ Is a Myth
It’s time we abandoned the notion
By Mano Singham on September 7, 2020
J.B.S. Haldane, one of the founders of modern evolutionary biology theory, was reportedly asked what it would take for him to lose faith in the theory of evolution and is said to have replied, “Fossil rabbits in the Precambrian.” Since the so-called “Cambrian explosion” of 500 million years ago marks the earliest appearance in the fossil record of complex animals, finding mammal fossils that predate them would falsify the theory.
But would it really?
The Haldane story, though apocryphal, is one of many in the scientific folklore that suggest that falsification is the defining characteristic of science. As expressed by astrophysicist Mario Livio in his book Brilliant Blunders: "[E]ver since the seminal work of philosopher of science Karl Popper, for a scientific theory to be worthy of its name, it has to be falsifiable by experiments or observations. This requirement has become the foundation of the ‘scientific method.’” ... "
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