History Main / GravityIsOnlyATheory

* One character [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY6tCnu-1Do here]] says "Screw gravity" and immediately begins floating upward.

* Alan Sokal wonderfully played on this trope, stating: "Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the windows of my apartment." [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome He used to live on the twenty-first floor.]]

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean''. The main goal of the main antagonist, Enrico Pucci, is to achieve what he refers to as [[ResetButton "Heaven"]] through the teachings of [[GreaterScopeVillain DIO]]. Given that Pucci is a priest, DIO asks him if he believes in the concept of gravity. Pucci [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome naturally]] doesn't get what DIO means by this, and DIO explains to him that gravity is the force which draws all life together, which is an abstract, yet not entirely incorrect thesis on the subject of gravity. From this, Pucci takes the knowledge he has on gravity and uses it in his Heaven plan, notably by [[spoiler:evolving his Whitesnake [[FightingSpirit Stand]] into C-Moon, which allows him to control the gravity of living creatures within a 3-kilometer radius]].

* Rational Wiki discusses and deconstructs this trope by name in their article on the term [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Deepity "Deepity"]] (which is a shorthand term for [[FauxSymbolism a phrase or statement that sounds vaguely profound but is actually nonsensical]]). They point out that "Gravity is just a theory" actually ''is'' correct... but also point out that many people who use the term are blatantly unaware of the definition of the word, as theory basically means "an idea that everyone agrees upon as correct unless it's refuted by later evidence". So while gravity really is "just a theory" that doesn't mean it doesn't exist and it's stupid to think otherwise. Rational Wiki also encounters a lot of other instances of this trope relating to other subjects. It comes with the territory of their goal of debunking pseudoscience and other such falsities.

[[folder:Film]]

[[quoteright:230:[[ComicBook/ChickTracts https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/intelligentfalling_3846.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:230:First of all, that's just the Solar System, secondly, the universe ''is'' expanding...]]

* Rational Wiki discusses and deconstructs this trope by name in their article on the term [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Deepity "Deepity"]] (which is a shorthand term for [[FauxSymbolism a phrase or statement that sounds vaguely profound but is actually nonsensical]]). They point out that "Gravity is just a theory" actually ''is'' correct... but also point out that many people who use the term are blatantly unaware of the definition of the word, as theory basically means "an idea that everyone agrees upon as correct unless it's refuted by later evidence". So while gravity really is "just a theory" that doesn't mean it doesn't exists and it's stupid to think otherwise. Rational Wiki also encounters a lot of other instances of this trope relating to other subjects. It comes with the territory of their goal of debunking pseudoscience and other such falsities.

* Wiki/RationalWiki discusses and deconstructs this trope by name in their article on the term [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Deepity "Deepity"]] (which is a shorthand term for [[FauxSymbolism a phrase or statement that sounds vaguely profound but is actually nonsensical]]). They point out that "Gravity is just a theory" actually ''is'' correct... but also point out that many people who use the term are blatantly unaware of the definition of the word, as theory basically means "an idea that everyone agrees upon as correct unless it's refuted by later evidence". So while gravity really is "just a theory" that doesn't mean it doesn't exists and it's stupid to think otherwise. Rational Wiki also encounters a lot of other instances of this trope relating to other subjects. It comes with the territory of their goal of debunking pseudoscience and other such falsities.

* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' holds that learning to fly is a fairly simple manner. All one has to do is throw oneself at the ground... and miss, at which point physics will happily ignore what you're doing as long as [[AchievementsInIgnorance you yourself don't think about it too hard]]. Several characters successfully achieve flight in this manner. It's pointed out in analysis that, FromACertainPointOfView, this is actually true: being in orbit is literally a case of moving so quickly horizontally that you keep missing the ground while falling.

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean''. The main goal of the main antagonist, Enrico Pucci, is to achieve what he refers to as [[ResetButton "Heaven"]] through the teachings of [[GreaterScopeVillain DIO]]. Given that Pucci is a priest, DIO asks him if he believes in the concept of gravity. Pucci [[SurprinsinglyRealisticOutcome naturally]] doesn't get what DIO means by this, and DIO explains to him that gravity is the force which draws all life together, which is an abstract, yet not entirely incorrect thesis on the subject of gravity. From this, Pucci takes the knowledge he has on gravity and uses it in his Heaven plan, notably by [[spoiler:evolving his Whitesnake [[FightingSpirit Stand]] into C-Moon, which allows him to control the gravity of living creatures within a 3-kilometer radius]].

* Alan Sokal wonderfully played on this trope, stating: "Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the windows of my apartment." [[SurprinsinglyRealisticOutcome He used to live on the twenty-first floor.]]

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean''. The main goal of the main antagonist, Enrico Pucci, is to achieve what he refers to as [[ResetButton "Heaven"]] through the teachings of [[GreaterScopeVillain DIO]]. Given that Pucci is a priest, DIO asks him if he believes in the concept of gravity. Pucci [[RealityEnsues naturally]] doesn't get what DIO means by this, and DIO explains to him that gravity is the force which draws all life together, which is an abstract, yet not entirely incorrect thesis on the subject of gravity. From this, Pucci takes the knowledge he has on gravity and uses it in his Heaven plan, notably by [[spoiler:evolving his Whitesnake [[FightingSpirit Stand]] into C-Moon, which allows him to control the gravity of living creatures within a 3-kilometer radius]].

* Alan Sokal wonderfully played on this trope, stating: "Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the windows of my apartment." [[RealityEnsues He used to live on the twenty-first floor.]]

A large part of this trope's use in both fiction and RealLife stems from the fact that 'theory' means something very different in a scientific (and philsophical) context to its everyday use, which could be summed up as 'unconfirmed idea'. 'It's just a theory' is a common way to indicate lack of confidence/certainty. This is not at all how the word is used in science, which gives many scientifically ignorant laypeople the confidence they need to attack any science of their choosing. What "theory" actually is is a tricky, tricky subject -- just go to your friendly university library and ask for some books on philosophy of science. In some works, however, the theory of gravity comes under fire as well, most often for purposes of analogy and satire. [[note]]The ''presence'' of gravity is not theoretical and is very clearly observed. It's the ''explanation of how gravity operates'' (as opposed to the phenomenon itself) that is indeed a theory, and has changed from time to time in the wake of new evidence, as scientific theories do. Gravity is currently best explained by the General Theory of Relativity, which has been empirically demonstrated to be correct, but which conflicts with quantum mechanics, which treats time as a constant.[[/note]]

For various reasons, the [[UsefulNotes/{{Evolution}} theory of evolution]] is the only scientific theory that gets challenged on a regular basis in RealLife. This has caused many science communicators to assert that evolution has so much evidence supporting it that it may instead be considered 'scientific fact'. [[note]]To be perfectly precise, a ''theory'' is a model that interprets and explains facts and allows for prediction -- using the gravity example, a fact is that when I dropped my pen just now, it fell to the floor, while theory of gravity is a conceptual framework that lets me say, with reasonable conviction, that my pen will fall to the floor when I drop it tomorrow, and it would have fallen to the ground if there were no floor. It might do so by claiming gravity waves, gravitons, curvature of space or tap-dancing garden gnomes, and we have no real way of determining which one is true -- only of weeding out theories that are false (because a false or insufficient theory will fail at prediction eventually). [[\note]]

!!"Only a theorum", other [[UsefulNotes/{{Theorum}} theorums]] than gravity and evolution

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean''. The main goal of the main antagonist, Enrico Pucci, is to achieve what he refers to as [[ResetButton "Heaven"]] through the teachings of [[GreaterScopeVillain DIO]]. Given that Pucci is a priest, DIO asks him if he believes in the concept of gravity. Pucci [[RealityEnsues naturally]] doesn't get what DIO means by this, and DIO explains to him that gravity is the force which draws all life together, which is an abstract, yet not entirely incorrect thesis on the subject of gravity. From this, Pucci takes the knowledge he has on gravity and uses it in his Heaven plan, notably by [[spoiler:evolving his Whitesnake [[FightingSpirit Stand]] into C-Moon, which allows him to control the gravity of living creatures within a 30-mile radius]].

* In ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', in Shiryu's final trial to earn his Dragon cloth he has to revert the flow of a waterfall using his Cosmo, Shiryu at first objects to the trial saying that it's impossible since it goes against the laws of nature, his master, Dokho, chastises him by saying that "There's no law that says the water has to flow downwards" and that the so-called "Laws of Nature" are the feeble attempts of weak men to explain what they can't possibly comprehend.

* Strictly speaking gravity today is not believed to be an actual ''force.'' It is not matter itself attracting other matter, but rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter. On the macro-scale (stars, planets) this distinction doesn't really matter, which is why Newton's theories (which describe gravity as a "force") can still be used. But on the micro-scale with quantum mechanics it becomes important. Normally on the quantum scale gravity is so weak as to be irrelevant. But when things are both very, very small and gravity is very, very strong you run into problems. This is why scientists can say so little about what goes on inside black holes.

* Funnily enough, today gravity is not believed to be an actual ''force.'' It is not matter itself attracting other matter, but rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter. On the macro-scale (stars, planets) this distinction doesn't really matter, which is why Newton's theories (which describe gravity as a "force") can still be used. But on the micro-scale with quantum mechanics it becomes important. Normally on the quantum scale gravity is so weak as to be irrelevant. But when things are both very, very small and gravity is very, very strong you run into problems. This is why scientists can say so little about what goes on inside black holes.

A large part of this trope's use in both fiction and RealLife stems from the fact that 'theory' means something very different in a scientific (and philsophical) context to its everyday use, which could be summed up as 'unconfirmed idea'. 'It's just a theory' is a common way to indicate lack of confidence/certainty. This is not at all how the word is used in science, which gives many scientifically ignorant laypeople the confidence they need to attack any science of their choosing. What "theory" actually is is a tricky, tricky subject -- just go to your friendly university library and ask for some books on philosophy of science.[[/note]] In some works, however, the theory of gravity comes under fire as well, most often for purposes of analogy and satire. [[note]]The ''presence'' of gravity is not theoretical and is very clearly observed. It's the ''explanation of how gravity operates'' (as opposed to the phenomenon itself) that is indeed a theory, and has changed from time to time in the wake of new evidence, as scientific theories do. Gravity is currently best explained by the General Theory of Relativity, which has been empirically demonstrated to be correct, but which conflicts with quantum mechanics, which treats time as a constant.[[/note]]

For various reasons, the [[UsefulNotes/{{Evolution}} theory of evolution]] is the only scientific theory that gets challenged on a regular basis in RealLife. This has caused many science communicators to assert that evolution has so much evidence supporting it that it may instead be considered 'scientific fact'. [[note]]To be perfectly precise, a ''theory'' is a model that interprets and explains facts and allows for prediction -- using the gravity example, a fact is that when I dropped my pen just now, it fell to the floor, while theory of gravity is a conceptual framework that lets me say, with reasonable conviction, that my pen will fall to the floor when I drop it tomorrow, and it would have fallen to the ground if there were no floor. It might do so by claiming gravity waves, gravitons, curvature of space or tap-dancing garden gnomes, and we have no real way of determining which one is true -- only of weeding out theories that are false (because a false or insufficient theory will fail at prediction eventually).

For various reasons, the [[UsefulNotes/{{Evolution}} theory of evolution]] is the only scientific theory that gets challenged on a regular basis in RealLife. [[note]]To be perfectly precise, a ''theory'' is a model that interprets and explains facts and allows for prediction -- using the gravity example, a fact is that when I dropped my pen just now, it fell to the floor, while theory of gravity is a conceptual framework that lets me say, with reasonable conviction, that my pen will fall to the floor when I drop it tomorrow, and it would have fallen to the ground if there were no floor. It might do so by claiming gravity waves, gravitons, curvature of space or tap-dancing garden gnomes, and we have no real way of determining which one is true -- only of weeding out theories that are false (because a false or insufficient theory will fail at prediction eventually). Evolution, too, has enough evidence behind it to be called a firmly established scientific fact -- meaning it's clear that living things have changed gradually over time -- that could be explained by different theories. What "theory" actually is is a tricky, tricky subject -- just go to your friendly university library and ask for some books on philosophy of science.[[/note]] In some works, however, the theory of gravity comes under fire as well, most often for purposes of analogy and satire. [[note]]The ''presence'' of gravity is not theoretical and is very clearly observed. It's the ''explanation of how gravity operates'' (as opposed to the phenomenon itself) that is indeed a theory, and has changed from time to time in the wake of new evidence, as scientific theories do. Gravity is currently best explained by the General Theory of Relativity, which has been empirically demonstrated to be correct, but which conflicts with quantum mechanics, which treats time as a constant.[[/note]]

* Funnily enough, gravity today is not believed to be an actual ''force.'' It is not matter itself attracting other matter, but rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter. On the macro-scale (stars, planets) this distinction doesn't really matter, which is why Newton's theories (which describe gravity as a "force") can still be used. But on the micro-scale with quantum mechanics it becomes important. Normally on the quantum scale gravity is so weak as to be irrelevant. But when things are both very, very small and gravity is very, very strong you run into problems. This is why scientists can say so little about what goes on inside black holes.

* Gravity itself today is actually not believed to be an actual ''force.'' It is not matter itself attracting other matter, but rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter. On the macro-scale (stars, planets) this distinction doesn't really matter, which is why Newton's theories (which describe gravity as a "force") can still be used. But on the micro-scale with quantum mechanics it becomes important. Normally on the quantum scale gravity is so weak as to be irrelevant. But when things are both very, very small and gravity is very, very strong you run into problems. This is why scientists can say so little about what goes on inside black holes.

* At the risk of confusing people, gravity itself today is not believed to be an actual ''force.'' It is not matter itself attracting other matter, but rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter. On the macro-scale (stars, planets) this distinction doesn't really matter, which is why Newton's theories (which describe gravity as a "force") can still be used. But on the micro-scale with quantum mechanics it becomes important. Normally on the quantum scale gravity is so weak as to be irrelevant. But when things are both very, very small and gravity is very, very strong you run into problems. This is why scientists can say so little about what goes on inside black holes.

* At the risk of confusing people, gravity itself today is not believed to be an actual ''force.'' That is, it is not matter itself attracting other matter. Rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter.

* At the risk of confusing people, Gravity itself today is not believed to be an actual ''Force.'' That is, it is not matter itself attracting other matter. Rather this ''apparent'' force is caused by the bending of spacetime in the presence of matter.
** The exact nature of Gravity - whether it is a Fundamental Force (alongside the affirmed Fundamentals of Strong Force, Weak Force, and Electromagnetism) or whether it is an Emergent Force - is so hotly debated in the scientific community and among enthusiasts that proclaiming support for '''either''' stance on a science forum is as close to {{flamebait}} as one can get in learned circles.

** Gravity is often used to explain why even the most demonstrable theories remain theories and most scientist don't think there should be a category for "objective fact." Yes it's been known since mankind fist existed that things fall down, but ''why and how'' is not nearly as self evident. Even since the theory of gravity was first put forth, it's had to be modified to fit with new discoveries, as discussed above. Arguments about such things can already get tense without people evoking a special tittle like "objective fact."
* This is a favorite argument used by Flat-Earthers, many of whom claim such things as "Gravity is only a theory and has never been proven." One of them even says, "Gravity does not exist! You are welcome to prove me wrong without repeating your indoctrination like a parrot or throwing around mathematics that cannot be practically demonstrated." Yup, they believe that science is a conspiracy.
** For those interested, Flat-Earthers usually claim that the (flat) Earth is accelerating through space producing what most people would call artificial gravity.

* The ''force'' of gravity is also a "fictional" force...the action of Gravity is actually believed to be caused by the bending of space in the presence of matter, and not by an actual force exerted by matter itself.

* This is a favorite argument used by Flat-Earthers, many of whom claim (and I quote), "Gravity is only a theory and has never been proven." One of them even says, "Gravity does not exist! You are welcome to prove me wrong without repeating your indoctrination like a parrot or throwing around mathematics that cannot be practically demonstrated." Yup, they believe that science is a conspiracy.