Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Theory | A well-substantiated, comprehensive explanation for a set of observations or phenomena, built from numerous tested hypotheses, facts, and laws, forming a robust framework that explains why something happens. Theories are repeatedly tested, supported by extensive evidence, and can be modified if new evidence emerges, making them the most reliable form of scientific knowledge. Note: A scientific theory isn't a hypothesis or a guess. It doesn't correspond to the casual and every-day use of the term "theory". A scientific theory is the very best explanation we have to fit the available data. Science |
| Thermohaline Circulation | Large-scale density-driven circulation in the ocean, caused by differences in temperature and salinity. In the North Atlantic the thermohaline circulation consists of warm surface water flowing northward and cold deep water flowing southward, resulting in a net poleward transport of heat. Climate Change Denial |
| Thimerosal | Thimerosal is a mercury-containing organic compound that has been used since the 1930s as a preservative in vaccines and other medical products. It is added to vials of vaccine that contain more than one dose (multi-dose vials) to prevent growth of germs, like bacteria and fungi. Vaccines |
| Token | A token is the unit that a language model processes. While all data, including images and audio, are also broken down into tokens, the concept is simplest to grasp with text, where a token is typically a word fragment (though it can be whole words, punctuation marks, and other things too). Artificial Intelligence |
| Trace Gas | Any one of the less common gases found in the Earth's atmosphere. Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon make up more than 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. Other gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, and ammonia, are considered trace gases. Climate Change Denial |
| Transgenic Organism | Organisms that have had genes from other species inserted into their genome. Transgenic means that one or more DNA sequences from another species have been introduced by artificial means. Transgenic plants can be made by introducing foreign DNA into a variety of different tissues. GMOs |
| Tribal Epistemology | A modern political phenomenon where people evaluate information based on whether it aligns with their in-group's values rather than objective evidence. Antiscience |
| Troposphere | The lowest part of the atmosphere from the surface to about 10 km in altitude in mid-latitudes (ranging from 9 km in high latitudes to 16 km in the tropics on average) where clouds and "weather" phenomena occur. Climate Change Denial |
| Type 1 Error | Occurs when you reject the null hypothesis, but it was actually true. If you perform the t-test and set p < 0.05, there is less than a 5% chance you could make a Type I error by rejecting the hypothesis based on random fluctuations in the data. Science |
| Type 2 Error | Occurs when you accept the null hypothesis, but it was actually false. The experimental conditions had an effect, but the researcher failed to find it statistically significant. Science |