In science, explanations are limited to those that can be inferred from confirmable data - the results obtained through observations and experiments that can be substantiated by other scientists. When observations of a phenomenon have been confirmed or can be repeated, they are regarded as fact. Any scientific confirmation is, however, tentative, because it is always possible that the results occurred by chance. A scientific theory is a body of continually refined observation, inference, and testable hypotheses. Because science is never irrevocably committed to any theory, no matter how firmly it appears to be established, science is not dogma.
Any theory is always subject to change in the light of new and confirmed observations.
Students should be taught that uncertainty is not a weakness, but a strength that leads to self-correction. History provides yet another way to understand how science works. Students should learn that much of the progress in science and technology is the result of a gradual accumulation and application of knowledge over many centuries. Drawing closer, I saw he was rapidly moving the fingers of his right hand up and down in front of his face. I was in the seventh grade, visiting Princeton University with my science class, and the man at the fountain was Albert Einstein.