Knowledge Library
Scientific Laws, Theories, Models, and Assumptions
Every claim on Evidence Pros depends on some combination of observations, measurements, laws, theories, models, equations, and assumptions. The categories are not interchangeable, and none of them counts as evidence on its own. Use this library to see what each category can and cannot establish — and to trace which assumptions any given argument inherits.
Dependency graph
Every conclusion sits at the end of a chain: an assumption feeds a model, the model uses equations to generate predictions, an experiment measures the prediction, and only after replication does the chain support a conclusion. If any step is unverified, the whole chain inherits its uncertainty.
Canonical chain
Assumption → Model → Equation → Prediction → Experiment → Measurement → Conclusion
Break any link — an assumption is untested, a prediction is invented post-hoc, an experiment lacks controls, a measurement lacks calibration, replication is absent — and the conclusion does not stand.
Assumption dependencies
For each assumption in the ledger, this table lists every downstream law and theory that would inherit its uncertainty.
| Assumption | Status | Downstream laws | Downstream theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth is an oblate spheroid, R ≈ 6371 km | provisional | Atmospheric Refraction | Globe-Earth Model · Heliocentric Model · Plate Tectonics |
| Earth is a stationary plane (flat/enclosed variant) | contested | Coriolis Effect · Foucault Pendulum · Gyroscopic Precession | Flat / Enclosed-Earth Models |
| Light travels in straight lines in vacuum at c | verified | Snell's Law · Law of Reflection · Atmospheric Refraction · Electromagnetic Propagation (Maxwell's Equations) | Globe-Earth Model · Flat / Enclosed-Earth Models |
| Standard atmospheric temperature/density profile | provisional | Atmospheric Refraction | Atmospheric Pressure Model · Atmospheric Refraction Model (surveyor k ≈ 0.13) |
| A downward field g exists at Earth's surface | verified | Archimedes' Principle · Laws of Buoyancy · Hydrostatic Pressure · Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation | Globe-Earth Model · Flat / Enclosed-Earth Models · Density-and-Buoyancy Explanation of Fall · Newtonian Gravity |
| Mass-mass attraction (gravity as a mass-based force) | contested | Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation · Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion · Tidal Forces | Globe-Earth Model · Newtonian Gravity · General Relativity |
| Observer elevation is correctly reported | provisional | Atmospheric Refraction | — |
| Instruments are calibrated and referenced to a physical standard | provisional | — | — |
| Coordinate system used for distance is stated (great-circle vs projection-plane) | verified | — | Globe-Earth Model · Flat / Enclosed-Earth Models |
| Distance/coordinate source is cited and reproducible | provisional | — | — |
| Time standard is UTC or explicitly stated | verified | — | — |
| Celestial-body distances (sun, moon, planets, stars) | contested | Inverse-Square Law · Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion | Heliocentric Model · Geocentric Models (Ptolemaic and Tychonic) · Flat / Enclosed-Earth Models · Solar and Lunar Motion Models |
| Imagery is admissible as direct evidence when provenance is verified | framework dependent | — | Globe-Earth Model · Satellite Orbit Model |
| Scriptural language is literal / phenomenological / poetic / symbolic | framework dependent | — | Biblical Cosmology Interpretations |
Unverified dependency notice
Contested or framework-dependent assumptions currently feed multiple laws and theories in this library. Any conclusion that depends on them is provisional; the argument is only as strong as its weakest link. Where a competing model has not published a quantitative prediction, that gap is stated on the theory record — we do not invent numbers on behalf of any model.