Causality, etc.

Prediction and theoretical explanation - Essentially, prediction may be anywhere from an informed "guess" to a well-reasoned hypothesis that is based on well-reasoned background knowledge but needs more specifics in order to be more accurate. Theoretical explanation, however, takes specific examples from theories that have already been proven, and provides a way of putting them into a context that allows for greater explanation. It seems that one can take a look at a problem or issue and find a continuum that allows for degrees of correctness based on either past knowledge or current experimentation. For instance, if point A at the left was "gut feeling" and point Z. On the right was "repeated and validated experimental data" then many forms of hypothetical thought would fall in between, depending on which stage or which actual type of prediction is being done. Prediction is a forecast that may or may...
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