I was disappointed in your recent article called "To Effectively Discuss Evolution, First Define 'Theory'" (R. Lewis, The Scientist, May 12, 1997, page 13). Ironically, the article does this incorrectly.
The article states, "A scientific theory explains a natural phenomenon based on abundant observations and data . . . a theory is a guess." This is incorrect. All science starts with observations and data. Then a hypothesis is put forward to explain the observations. The hypothesis is then tested by experiment, and if the experiments support the hypothesis, it becomes a theory.
Note that science equals experimentation. Without testing hypotheses by experiment, you do not have science, period. Science is experimental science. Even theoretical scientists must look for experimental verification of their hypotheses to prove them valid.
In the case of creationism vs. evolution as the origin of life, there is no possibility of doing experiments, because they deal with ...
