Purposefully “vague” or “inconclusive” language like the following examples are frequently used in studies:
“Our study indicates that”
“The findings suggest”
“We postulate to…”
“may stop germs”
Why is this? Is it simply because they literally can’t conclude anything 100%? I read the following quote on a different thread, and perhaps this could somehow lead me to an answer, ” Science cannot prove; it can only disprove”?
Many thanks!
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The short answer is scientists are humble people who understand that they could potentially be wrong because they know that new data has proven so many things wrong in the past.
Longer answer – We thought the earth was flat. That nearly made sense at a time when we traveled very short distances in comparison to the large radius of the earth. At the time, it was the most plausible theory we had. As we uncovered more data, we realised we were wrong. Scientists never claim they are absolutely correct unless they have conclusive proof of causality because new data can prove their theories wrong. Evidence is not the same as conclusive proof and scientists understand that better than most people.
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