theoretical vs. hypothetical

0Theoretical is something that exists only in theory, not practical.02br
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00If something is hypothetic, it is based on assumptions (the mother of...).02br
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00IMO, they overlap to a large extent0-

It's actually the opposite. There is a large misconception regarding the word 'theory':

Theoretical means that something is proven and is a fact.
Hypothetical means that something is a guess, or has not been proven.

In science, a hypothesis comes before a theory. First a hypothesis is formulated, and then tested. After it is tested, and proven, it becomes a theory.

Hypothetical is when a subject or idea is in the thought phase.

It becomes theoretical when a method developes by which it can be tested for its validity.

Actually that's not quite right - scientific theories cannot be 'proven' to be true, only proven to be false.

A theory like Special Relativity is one which has been tested many times without proving it false, therefore there is a lot of confidence in it's validity - but no-one can be completely, 100% certain that it is true.

So a theory could be any idea - it does not have to hav

Good distinction! Well said.

This is somewhat incorrect. You're correct that a hypothesis comes prior to a theory, however, for the sake pedantry, you cannot prove a scientific theory. Why? Because the scientific community adheres to the notion that there is always evidence that we haven't uncovered which could change everything. For example, Newton once had a theory regarding gravity. Einstein came along and provided a bette

Theory is not proof of anything!
A scientific theory is just saying that a majority of scientists believe it to be true. A Black Hole is a scientific theory, but no one has proven they exist or if and what they are.

Actually it goes in this order: Hypothesis > Theory > Law. Once a theory is proven it is referred to as a "Law."