Examples
Claim: It is raining outside.
- Verify - We can look out the window.
- Falsify - If we look out the window and it is raining.
It is either raining or it is not and everyone will agree on it.
Claim: The earth is a sphere.
- Verify: We can call a friend that lives in a different time zone at sunset. Because they live in a different time zone, the sun will not be setting which would indicate that the sun is at a different angle. A spherical earth is an excellent explanation for the discrepancy.
- Falsify: If our friend in a different time zone is experiencing the sunset at the same time, that would falsify the idea that the angle of the sun is different in two different locations on earth.
Verifying or falsifying the sun’s position at different locations does not prove or disprove the spherical earth, but it is a step in that direction. There may be other explanations as to why we experience different times of a sunset.
Claim: The average temperature of the earth is warming.
- Verify: We can check historical data across many locations.
- Falsify: If we check the historical temperature data in many locations and find that the average temperature is
not rising, there is doubt that the earth is warming.
Verifying or falsifying an average change in historical temperature data does not prove or disprove climate change, but it is a step in that direction. There may be other explanations as to why we experience global temperature rising.
Examples
Mythical creatures like unicorns are unverified, and they cannot be falsified. In order to falsify the existence of unicorns, we would need to look at every square inch of the planet earth at the exact same moment. Only then could we say with absolute certainty that unicorns do not exist on planet earth. Since such a thing is not possible, we cannot falsify the existence of a unicorn or Bigfoot. Likewise, until we discover the existence of extra-terrestrial life, we cannot prove aliens DO NOT exist. We can apply reasoning and probability to address the question of a being’s existence, and we will address that process later.
Some claims are easily falsifiable. We only need to provide evidence that contradicts the assumption.
If I wanted to falsify the claim that the earth is flat (or round), I only need to prove that the earth is some other shape.
In order to falsify the claim that the earth is at the center of the universe, I can observe the movement of Mercury in the night sky adheres to the laws of physics if it is moving around the sun instead of the earth.
Notice that both examples deal with concrete reality that we can all observe. Compare these two with the previous example that cannot be falsified, only verified.
When someone makes a claim that cannot be falsified, often they will ask you to prove the claim false. An easy method to disqualify their stance is to ask what kind of evidence they would accept as proof that their claim is false.
Example: What sort of evidence would you accept that would prove to you the COVID-19 vaccine does NOT contain nano-particles that government is using to track us.
Example: What sort of evidence would you accept that would prove to you aliens are NOT abducting people and performing weird experiments on them.
Notice that it is nearly impossible to prove the falseness of the two examples above. There is no way to prove that the claim is NOT occurring. This is what we mean when we say that a claim cannot be falsified.