I would like the world to know that science offers a method for distinguishing truth from superstition, myth and prejudice. That method involves constructing a hypothesis, and then designing an experiment in which one outcome is expected if the hypothesis is true, and another outcome is expected if the hypothesis is false.

No one experiment can prove a hypothesis, but one experiment can disprove a hypothesis. Many experiments are required to build confidence in a hypothesis. And all scientific 'facts' have a small probability of being incorrect, just as myths and superstition have a small probability of being true.

Experiments must be done very carefully, with good statistics, proper controls, and -where humans are involved, either as the subject or as the observer - the experiment should be double blind. Even then, experiments need to be repeated by other people and under other conditions, to reduce the likelihood of error and to build confidence in the hypothesis. Science is a process of discovery, not a collection of facts.

Julien Clinton Sprott is author of books including Chaos and Time-Series Analysis (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)), and Strange Attractors: Creating Patterns in Chaos (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)). See his website.