Have you ever heard ‘evolution’ dismissed as ‘just a theory’? Is a scientific theory no different to the theory that’‘theory’ might simply mean a guess. But a scientific theory respects a somewhat stricter set of requirements. When scientists discuss theories, they are designed as comprehensive explanations for things we observe in nature. They’re founded on strong evidence and provide ways to make real-world predictions that can be tested. While scientific theories aren’t necessarily all accurate or true, they shouldn’t be belittled by their name alone. The theory of natural selection, quantum theory, the theory of general relativity and the germ theory of disease aren’t ‘just theories’. They’re structured explanations of the world around us, and the very foundation of science itself. Read the blog post to find out more: http://www.rigb.org/blog/2014/november/its-just-a-theory The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy