Atoms to Humans 1
Truth about how nature works that cannot be falsified by observations of the physical world.
Discovered truth
Attempting to observe the predictions of a scientific hypothesis or theory.
Empirical testing
What drives the governing processes of the system.
Energy flow through the system
"I saw the moon rise last night" is a good example of a scientific law.
False
"The man pushing the baby in the stroller is probably his father" is a good example of an observation.
False
"The road is wet" is a good example of an interpretation.
False
"When I drop a ball, it falls because gravity pulls it towards Earth," an interpretation, is a good example of an absolute truth.
False
"When I dropped that apple, it fell down—toward Earth" is a good example of a scientific interpretation.
False
A falsified scientific theory is an explanation that has been demonstrated to have no applicability.
False
Agent-designed assembly produces order spontaneously.
False
All questions are best answered using revelation; there is no need for discovery.
False
Asking your college roommate which medication would best reduce the pain of a migraine headache is a good example of scientific reasoning.
False
Because they are more extensively tested, we should place more confidence in scientific hypotheses than we do in scientific theories.
False
Disciple-scholars use revelation to find and do God's will and dismiss science as a method of finding truth.
False
Discovery is the best tool for learning spiritual truth.
False
Falsified scientific theories are completely false and cannot be trusted even in areas where they previously worked.
False
For a reasoned truth, a statement such as "This is True!" means that the idea accurately describes nature.
False
Fracture patterns in rock bodies that are caused by tectonic forces are good examples of agent-designed assembly.
False
In a volleyball game, the two teams, the referees, the ball, the court, and the fans are best described as a governing process.
False
In agent-designed assembly, the elements act for themselves.
False
No volcanic eruptions for an entire year would falsify the notion that volcanic activity results from tectonic processes.
False
Observations of nature can prove that scientific explanations are absolutely true.
False
Observing a rock body that is 2 billion years old would not falsify the idea that the Earth was created a few thousands or a few tens of thousands of years ago.
False
Observing fossil human bones in a sedimentary deposit older than 110,000 years would not falsify the idea that no humans lived on Earth before 6,000 years ago.
False
Observing that the tub no longer leaks when you replace a gasket can be empirically tested by hypothesizing that the leak was caused by a faulty gasket.
False
Purchasing the best tennis racket for you by seeing if it is endorsed by a famous tennis player is a good example of scientific reasoning.
False
Questions such as "How old is a fossil, the Earth, or the Universe?" are best answered using revealed truths.
False
Reasoned truth provides strong tests for the validity of the premises upon which its logical conclusions are based.
False
Reducing faith and contradicting religious interpretations of nature are functions of scientific theories.
False
Revelation is a useful tool only in spiritual matters; in other words, it can never be used to learn truth about the natural world.
False
Scientific laws are generalizations of many hypotheses; in this sense, they are similar to scientific theories.
False
Scientific theories are important because they provide answers to moral questions.
False
Scientific theories are the "philosophies of men".
False
Scientific theories fill three functions. They 1) explain how nature works, 2) falsify revealed truths, and 3) make predictions that guide future research.
False
Scientific theories make few, if any, predictions; as such, they are weak guides for future inquiry.
False
The Lord expects us to avoid scientific discoveries about nature and focus instead solely on what He has revealed about nature.
False
The common colloquial phrase "just a theory" applies well to scientific theories in that it correctly attributes low confidence to these poorly-tested best guesses.
False
The common colloquial phrase, "just a theory" applies well to scientific theories in that it correctly attributes low confidence to these poorly-tested best guesses.
False
The formation of a school of fish is an example of agent-designed assembly.
False
The formation of an automobile is an example of lawful self-assembly.
False
The opinion of a religious leader is a good example of God's Words.
False
The purpose of science is to destroy faith & disprove religion.
False
The question "How have things changed?" is best answered by describing the system.
False
The question "In what way are things irregular? " is best answered by describing the order.
False
There is no role for faith in science.
False
This statement is a good example of a discovered truth: "I think, therefore I am."
False
This statement is a good example of a reasoned truth: "The decay of radioactive isotopes indicate that the Earth is ancient."
False
We should consider most interpretations as absolute truths.
False
When a scientific theory is falsified, observations have demonstrated that idea never contained any truth.
False
When a scientific theory is falsified, observations that the theory explains are also false.
False
When air is added to a sealed tire, the interior pressure rises. The rise in pressure is best described as a push.
False
The process scientists use to test the truthfulness of scientific interpretations/explanations.
Falsification
An event or process that acts to change system conditions.
Forcing/Push
Information that God reveals directly to humanity, including through His prophets (for example, scripture).
God's Words
The physical Universe (in other words, the entirety of the ongoing Creation of the physical world).
God's Works
Activities operating independently in nature that control the state of a system.
Governing processes
These provide understanding that can improve the quality and duration of our lives, satisfy our yearning to understand/explain nature, and guide the search for additional truth.
Importance of a falsified scientific theory
A scientific explanation of the natural process(es) that produce a pattern/patterns in nature.
Scientific interpretation
The meaning or explanation of a scientific description of the natural world.
Scientific interpretation
A statement summarizing many scientific observations that describes an observational pattern in nature.
Scientific law
An expected observation; an aspect of nature that should be observed if a hypothesis or theory is true.
Scientific prediction
An extensively-tested scientific hypothesis—tested using all the observations presently available to humanity (and not falsified by those observations).
Scientific theory
The condition or mode of a system.
State of the system
The truth has not been falsified by observations of nature.
The meaning of a discovered truth
The truth is logical.
The meaning of a reasoned truth
The truth has been confirmed to a person's soul by the power of the Holy Ghost.
The meaning of a revealed truth
The process of determining whether the observations predicted by an extensively-tested scientific explanation exist.
Theory testing
"Dogs have large canine teeth and sharp molars" is a good example of a scientific observation (and is not a good example of a scientific interpretation).
True
"I see the barn is red" is a good example of an observation.
True
"Pressure differences always cause fluids to flow, from high pressure to low pressure" is a good example of a scientific law.
True
"That tall woman is probably good at basketball" is a good example of an interpretation.
True
"The moon orbits Earth," an observation, is a good example of an absolute truth.
True
A disciple-scholar recognizes that their current understanding of truth is incomplete.
True
A falsified theory is an idea that has been demonstrated to have limited applicability; as such, falsified scientific axioms are preparatory truths.
True
Imagine an observation that should be explained by a scientific theory, but which the scientific theory cannot explain. This observation would falsify that theory.
True
In a board game, the current location of all the pieces is best described as the state of the game.
True
In agent-designed assembly, incomplete versions typically do not function at all.
True
In lawful self-assembly, the elements act for themselves.
True
It is possible for you and I to gain a perfect knowledge of all truth in this life.
True
Lawful self-assembly does not require a print.
True
Lawful self-assembly produces order spontaneously.
True
Observing an aspect of nature that cannot be explained by a scientific theory would falsify that theory.
True
Observing one cow sleeping while laying on the ground would falsify the idea that all cows sleep while standing.
True
Our confidence in scientific interpretations depends on the ways in which the explanation has been tested.
True
Paper wasp queens building nests using gathered wood fibers and their own saliva is a good example of agent-designed assembly.
True
Providing solutions to political issues is a function of scientific theories.
True
Questions such as "Does the Bible or Book of Mormon contain God's Words?" are best answered through revelation.
True
Questions such as "Is this sentence grammatically correct?" are best answered using reasoned truth.
True
Reasoned truths provide less certainty than do Discovered truths and Revealed truths.
True
Revelation & Discovery are both important, authoritative paths to truth.
True
Scientific observations are essentially indisputable.
True
Scientific theories are extensively-tested ideas.
True
Scientific theories are important because they can improve the quality and duration of our lives.
True
Scientific theories are important because they demonstrate that there are some things that we will never understand.
True
Scientific theories are important because they satisfy the human yearning to understand nature.
True
The formation of a bridge is an example of agent-designed assembly.
True
The formation of an 'animal-shaped' cloud is an example of lawful self-assembly.
True
The knowledge provided by scientific theories gives humanity power to control or react to aspects of nature.
True
The question "What are you studying?" is best answered by describing the system.
True
The question "What outside influences are acting on it?" is best answered by describing the pushes
True
The question "What rules are at work?" is best answered by describing the governing processes.
True
The validity of a scientific hypothesis can be tested by making observable predictions and then identifying whether or not the predictions are observed.
True
This statement is a good example of a revealed truth: "The spirit witnesses to me that God is real and that He loves me."
True
Using different amounts of vanilla in several batches of a pudding recipe to see which one tastes the best is a good example of using scientific reasoning.
True
When a strong witness of the Spirit about the reality of the prophet conflicts with a scholarly conclusion that the prophet is a fraud, a disciple-scholar would reject interpretations that are in conflict with revealed truth.
True
When confronted with the idea that Earth was created in seven 24-hour periods and observations that the earth is extremely ancient, a disciple-scholar would reject opinions that are in conflict with observations of God's works.
True
When heat is added to ice causing it to melt, the change from ice to water is best described as a transition.
True
When heat is added to water, the temperature rises. The rising temperature is best described as a push.
True
When water boils, the flow of heat from the heating element into the water is best described as a governing process.
True
Whether a dishwasher is empty, full of dirty dishes, currently washing or is full of clean dishes is best described as states of a system.
True
You conclude that it rained last night because the road in front of your house is wet. "It rained last night" is best described as a scientific hypothesis.
True
A scientific explanation that has been demonstrated to contain limited truth and thus have limited/imperfect explanatory power.
A falsified scientific theory
Perfect knowledge of the way all things actually are. Something we strive for but cannot reach in this life.
Absolute truth
A sensory experience
An observation
A system made of simple parts and processes in which interactions are synergistic--such that the system is more than the sum of its simple parts and processes.
Complex system
A system response that counteracts the effect of the forcing/push.
Negative feedback
An enduring state in which system behavior is lawfully chaotic.
Persistently disordered state
An enduring state in which system behavior is organized but unpredictable.
Persistently ordered state
A system response to a forcing/push that reinforces the effect of the forcing.
Positive feedback
The test for this type of truth is logic. In other words, if this type of assertion is logical, it is considered true.
Reasoned truth
Truth that arises primarily from rational, logical thought.
Reasoned truth
Truth revealed to humans by God through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Revealed truth
A sensory experience or identified pattern that all rational humans experience objectively.
Scientific Observation
An experience made with the senses—or an instrument that extends the senses—that all rational humans experience objectively.
Scientific Observation/Data
A foundational concept that undergirds the scientific endeavor and allows scientists to interpret observations; for example, mechanism and uniformitarianism.
Scientific Postulate
A scientific idea that seeks to explain the natural processes that produce an observation(s)/pattern(s).
Scientific hypothesis
Agent-designed assembly requires a designer.
True
All rational humans 'do science' every day, in that they recognize patterns and seek to explain them.
True
An official declaration of a prophet is a good example of God's Words.
True
At a soccer match, the blowing of the referee's whistle that starts the game is best described as a push.
True
Because scientific theories have been so extensively tested, we can be certain that they are (at least) excellent preparatory truths and (at best) approach absolute truth.
True
Connecting otherwise large sets of unrelated observations is one of the essential functions of scientific theories.
True
Explaining aspects of nature is one of the essential functions of scientific theories.
True
Falsified scientific theories remain valid descriptions of nature in the areas in which they could not be falsified by observation.
True
For a discovered truth, a statement such as "This is True!" means that the truth has not been falsified by observations of nature.
True
Fossils of ancient organisms with characteristics very similar to modern Homo sapiens are good examples of God's Works.
True
Galaxies are good examples of God's Works.
True
God's words teach us the purpose of nature; God's works teach us how nature works.
True
Humanity has determined that tectonic forces cause rigid portions of Earth's surface to move relative to each other because we have never observed movement one of these plates in the absence of a tectonic force. "Tecontic forces cause the motion of Earth's plates" is best described as a scientific theory.
True
Hypothesizing that the cake tastes bad because you didn't follow the recipe can be empirically tested by making another cake and ensuring that you follow the recipe and comparing the taste of the second cake to the taste of the first cake.
True
Identifying the cause for why your car won't start by doing things such as remembering when it last started, identifying any related events that have happened since it last started, trying a 'jump start', having your alternator (the part of the car that charges the battery) tested by a reputable parts store, and searching for disconnected cables is a good example of scientific reasoning.
True
If a hypothesis makes observable predictions, and the predictions are observed, our confidence in the validity of the hypothesis should increase.
True
If we diligently seek additional understanding, we can improve our knowledge and more closely approach absolute truth through time.
True