Editor:
I would like to respond to the letter from Nicole Lovett that ran in your Sept. 28 edition. In that letter, Ms. Lovett asserts that evolution is a theory, not a fact, using Webster’s dictionary to define fact.
I would suggest she go back to the dictionary and look up the word theory, because she clearly does not understand the word. She seems to think that theory means “guess” and that some day, with enough information, a theory will become a fact.
This is not how science uses these terms. A theory never becomes a fact. Facts are used to support a theory, because theory means “an explanation for a group of facts or phenomena” (American Heritage dictionary).
A theory is not proven, but is either accepted or rejected. The theory of the motion of celestial bodies explains sunrise/sunset, the seasons and the phases of the moon. There is no competing theory to this one. It is universally accepted.
Likewise, there is no competing theory to the theory of evolution. It is universally accepted, scientifically, with resistance coming almost exclusively from belief systems, such as the Bible, also known as creation myths.
Thomas Quinn
Seattle, WA
