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Originally Posted by Smalls
My question though is how does it debunk them? A theory is something can be proven or disproven. Can this be proven or disproven?
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There are different kinds of levels of proof and disproof. For example, most scientist and engineers are familiar with means, standard deviations, and p-values. If a theory makes a quantitative prediction of the value of an outcome, and an experiment measures that outcome a number of times with a mean value and a standard deviation, the mean value being 2 standard deviations away from the outcome has disproven the theory with a 97% confidence level. Suppose the theory predicts average global temperatures to rise by 3 degrees over a specified time. If the measured temperatures have risen 2 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees, then the prediction is off by twice the uncertainty in the measurement. This allows a confidence level to be ascribed to a claim of disproof, but it is not absolute certainty.
Other claims can also be debunked more qualitatively, akin to Mythbusters' use of their three outcomes: Busted, Plausible, and Confirmed.
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Originally Posted by Baychamp1
In my simple mind the theory that masses of rock & gases collided randomly and created a perfect planet which sustains animal, plant and human life perfectly, debunks the scientific non believers. Challenge them to go to church, read the bible and actively seek the Holy Spirit, and we'll see who changes their mind.
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I agree with Baychamp that the claims that a planet perfectly suitable for life assembled from rocks and gases has been debunked by qualitative considerations about its unlikeliness. "Busted." The original scientific claim is captured in the "nebular hypothesis" originally put forward in 1755 by Immanuel Kant. It has never found enough evidentiary support to be called a theory. It only persists, because all the other naturalistic theories for the formation of the earth and solar system have failed more spectacularly.