> Example Fact: I observed that in a sample of X smokers who smoked Y cigarettes a day, Z developed lung cancer. > Example non-Fact: Smoking causes approximate

> Example Fact: I observed that in a sample of X smokers who smoked Y cigarettes a day, Z developed lung cancer. > Example non-Fact: Smoking causes approximately Z rate of lung cancer. Apart from the specific problems we have ever proving causality. both these statements are still conclusions based to varying degrees on beliefs which may be wrong. The people in the study might have lied. The cancer test might have been flawed. Ultimately the feeling of knowing a fact is an emotion. In science all we can do is be as careful as possible in stating how an experiment or study was performed and what happened. People certainly gain in their confidence of these broader statements as the evidence piles up. But from the perspective of science this reliance on beliefs created by previous studies is a form of bias which can be a bad thing.