If they mean the words how I understand them, you can explain something without making accurate predictions. If I walk by a box and it falls over, I can theori

If they mean the words how I understand them, you can explain something without making accurate predictions. If I walk by a box and it falls over, I can theorize the the wind did it. That "explains" what happened. But it doesn't make my theory true.But say I predict that next time I pass it the wind will knock it over. So I walk by it again — it doesn't fall — then my explanation is incomplete. That's why we require predictions. The real test is how accurate they are.