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Originally Posted by R.A.F.
It's also important to know what a "theory" actually is.
If I may quote the late Dr. Asimov (from his essay "The Armies of the Night")...
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A Theory, when advanced by a competent scientist, is an elaborate and detailed attempt to account for a series of otherwise disconnected and appearently unrelated observations. It is based on numerous observations, close reasoning, and, where appropriate, careful mathematical deduction. To be successful, a theory must be confirmed by other scientists through numerous additional observations and tests and, where this is possible, must offer predictions that can be tested and confirmed. The Theory can be, and is, refined and improved as more and better observations are made.
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In that same essay, he goes on to say...
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What is a Theory not? It is not "a guess".
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What about the Hubble “constant” that the public was assured was a “constant” for 70 years, and now some of the astronomers are claiming they have “proof” it is not a “constant”?
So who is “guessing” and who isn’t?
What some people are talking about here is not “science” and not “proof” of a real theory, but “majority rules” among the scientists. It’s ok for them to guess and to promote the wrong theory for 70 years as long as the majority of them agree on the common guess.