... every hypothesis is a construction, and because of this it is an authentic theory. In so far as they merit that exigent name, ideas are never a mere reception of presumed realities, but they are constructions of possibilities; therefore they are pure bits of imagination, or fine ideas of our own... Anonymous
About This Quote

The idea that there are no theories until there is data to test them is a common misconception. Karl Popper believed that all ideas are built on existing knowledge and that this knowledge never goes away. The ideas that form the basis of our theories are always being modified as new input comes in. This means that no matter how good your theory might be, it is only as good as the amount of data to prove or disprove it.

There is an exception to this, however. The exception is when the theory is so general that it cannot be tested by any amount of data. In this case, your theory can be called an hypothesis.

The hypothesis must have enough merit to be considered a theory but not so much that it was able to predict anything accurately.

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