BRAINCAKEThe Burden of Proof
The burden of proof is the responsibility to provide evidence for a claim. In science, the person or group making a claim must support it with valid evidence; it is not up to others to prove it wrong. A new hypothesis is accepted only when enough reliable evidence has built up to support it.
Climate change shows why this matters. Scientists who claim that human activity is warming the planet must provide data, a mechanism and predictions that can be tested. Equally, anyone who claims the warming is natural must provide evidence for that alternative, not simply point out uncertainty.
The scientific community checks claims through:
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More in Human Influence on Ecosystems
- Human Population Explosion
- Climate Change
- Depletion of Biological Resources
- Loss of Biodiversity
- Evaluating Studies
- Greenhouse Effect
- Evidence for the Global Temperature Increase
- Analysis of Ice Cores
All 29 lessons in Human Influence on Ecosystems · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics