Should a hypothesis (a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical consequences, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypothesis) be rejected by a single counter-example?
No, I don't think a hypothesis should be rejected by a single counter-example. I actually thought about this during the game. I noticed that some of the people who discussed their incorrect hypothesizes had actually ignored some of the data in order to create their hypothesis fit. For example, when Bryan and I were the captains, someone said that their hypothesis had been that only words with smaller words in them would be accepted onto the boat. This hypothesis fit with every word except the first word. The person had formed a hypothesis that wasn't supported by every piece of data. I think that this is a reasonable thing to do. Whenever humans are involved in an experiment, there is human error. Bryan and I could have made a mistake and wrongly accepted the first word. As long as most of the data fits a hypothesis, it is valid.
Can a hypothesis ever be proven? How much supporting evidence would be required?
The more evidence that supports a hypothesis, the more it is proven and the more likely it is to be correct. Therefore, it would take a lot of evidence in order for us to be absolutely positive that a hypothesis is true. I think a hypothesis can be accepted if multiple professionals and normal people perform the experiment with the same positive results. At that point, I would accept it as proven.
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