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Falsifiability

If nothing could ever prove it wrong, it is not knowledge. It is faith.

Falsifiability is a simple test: for a claim to be meaningful, there must be some observation or evidence that could, in principle, show it to be false. "The economy will improve or it will not" is unfalsifiable — it covers every possible outcome and therefore says nothing. "This policy will reduce unemployment by 3% within two years" is falsifiable — you can check. That is what makes it a real claim rather than a decoration.

This principle was developed for science, but it applies far beyond laboratories. Political promises that cannot be measured are designed to be unfalsifiable. Ideologies that explain every outcome — victory proves we were right, defeat proves the enemy was stronger — are closed systems that cannot learn from reality. Conspiracy theories that treat contradicting evidence as further proof of the conspiracy have abandoned falsifiability entirely. They feel like knowledge but function like religion.

This does not mean that unfalsifiable ideas are worthless. Values, meaning, and purpose often resist measurement, and that is fine. The problem starts when unfalsifiable claims dress themselves up as factual ones — when someone presents a belief as a conclusion while making sure no evidence could ever challenge it. Recognising that distinction is one of the most practical tools you can carry into any conversation about what is true.

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