A quick explanation of scientific evidence
Evidence is the term applied to the information indicating whether a claim (synonym for a belief, hypothesis, statement, or argument) is True or not.
Because we are imperfect systems and will misinterpret our perceived reality often, the information provided to support a claim of Truth must satisfy each of the following three ideas.
These three ideas (below) form part of the bedrock of scientific and rational thought.
1) the information must be observable (measurable).
-we must be able to measure or observe the claim in some way.
If the evidence to support your claim is not observable, then it becomes impossible to detect. If we cannot detect it whatsoever, then we cannot logically include this as evidence toward your claim.
2) the information must be repeatable .
-we must be able to repeat the findings through experimentation. Findings that are not repeatable through subsequent testing cannot be used as evidence. This is another word for a miracle. Most faith-based religions we have recognize miracles as “evidence” for the god-belief. Because our senses are faulty, we cannot use a single incident as evidence of anything. Is there a greater chance that the laws of space and time were bent for us personally, or that our blood sugar may have been a bit low? We require repetition to eliminate known errors of our senses and our bias.
3) the information must be falsifiable (testable).
-we cannot use circular logic to support our claim. It is not logical to say something is True because it is True. Likewise, it is not logical to say something is True because it cannot be proven false (outside of pure deduction). To be falsifiable is synonymous with our claim being testable. Logically, these two words have nearly identical meaning. Something which cannot be proven false is synonymous with it not being testable in the first place. Therefore, if the evidence cannot be demonstrated to be possibly be wrong then we logically cannot use towards the validity of a claim.
Beyond all of this, the scientific process as a whole requires a level of peer-review to further investigate the evidence provided toward a claim of Truth. Peer-review ensures that the interpretation, methods, materials and conclusions are consistent and furthre helps to remove bias.
Is this system perfect? No, far from it. Nonetheless, it is the best system we have to both demonstrably and consistently determine fact from fiction.
