• LordCrom@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    18 days ago

    That’s the great thing about science.

    Things that are considered facts in today’s world can be disproven by new experiments and observations (recreated through experimentation and after adequate peer review).

    So for me, it depends on what is being evaluated. 2+2 is a fact. Exact age of the moon might be up for more debate.

    • untakenusername@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      18 days ago

      2+2 is a fact

      In some sense, if every single human thought that 2+2 equaled 5, it would become true

      (I’m not smart enough to come up with this lol, got it from Orwell’s 1984)

      • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        18 days ago

        It doesn’t even require belief.

        2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2.

        While a facetious statement in general, it is factual if those values derive from rounding. Significant Digits must be maintained.

    • Arkouda@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      18 days ago

      How is 2 + 2 a fact?

      How do you know, through new experiments and observations, that we will never determine the exact age of the moon?