Quote Originally Posted by poop
(and a healthy dose of maths)
Maths isn't theory though. I don't theorise that 5*2=10, I can state it as fact. If we can't rely on our understanding of maths, then science will collapse entirely. Astronomy is a poor example. We can make predictions, and observe them coming true. For example, solar eclipses.

You say "your definition" as though I pulled it out of my arse... I didn't, I googled "science".

Quote Originally Posted by google
the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
"observation" is an interesting word. I can "observe" the sky and say it is blue. When we talk about "blue", is this science or philosophy? How can we know that we both see the same colour when we see "blue"? Science can't tell us if we perceive blue the same, but it can tell us if we're looking at the same wavelength of light.

Science can't yet do this with climate change. We're taking a bunch of assumptions based on probability, mashing them together, and calling this "consensus". I don't like it. That's not science, it's philosophy. I'd like it more if they were honest about what it is.

There was a time where "consensus" would argue in favour of a flat Earth. Newton's gravity was "consensus" until Einstein came along. Atom means "indivisible". When scientists all nod their heads in agreement, it doesn't mean they are right.

Quote Originally Posted by poop
Theories are never confirmed; they can only be disconfirmed.
This from wikipedia...

A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested and confirmed, preferably using a written, pre-defined, protocol of observations and experiments.
Climate change does not meet the criteria of "repeatedly tested and confirmed". There are a lot of "theories" that do stand up to the ultimate test of science. At this point, they cease to be "theory" and become "fact". Climate change isn't there yet.