Mental model · Reasoning
Falsifiability
Falsifiability: A claim worth holding is one that some observation could contradict. Go and look for that observation, rather than for more confirmations.
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A claim worth holding is one that some observation could contradict.
Try it now
Write a theory you have about why something is happening at work. Now write what you would have to observe for it to be wrong.
What to do with the answer
Go and look for that observation, rather than for more confirmations. One clear disconfirmation is worth a hundred agreements.
Where it misleads
Unfalsifiable does not mean worthless — values, meaning and preferences are not testable. It means do not treat it as a finding.
The module it belongs to
- Critical Thinking — Evaluate claims and evidence
The book behind it
- Logic of scientific discovery — Its big ideas, in our own words.