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How and why are scientific theories accepted?

November 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. This theory is one of many pivotal scientific discoveries that would drastically influence our understanding of the world around us. But how, and why, are these theories accepted – first by the scientific community, and then by the general public? To find out, let’s use Einstein’s relativity as a case study to examine how the theory was ultimately accepted and how scientists have made 20th century science as we know it today.

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Featured image credit: “Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921” by Ferdinand Schmutzer. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Recent Comments

  1. [email protected]

    Who wrote or stated: “Scientists are compelled to accept a new theory which purports to explain all the facts of an old theory with others that cannot be explained…” or something to rhat affect?

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