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Reader question: Please explain “burden of proof” in this statement: Those who promote a theory are, in the scientific method, bound by the burden of proof. My comments: To paraphrase, people who put out a theory have to prove that theory to be true scientifically. In other words, it’s not enough for someone to claim something as such and so and just leave it there – assuming that others will all believe it as such and so. They have, instead, to go through all the trouble to prove to others that the theory is true, using the scientific method, that is, via vigorous tests and trials. And all that trouble one has to go through is why it is called a “burden”. “Burden” suggests that it’s a heavy piece of work, one that’s very difficult of accomplishment. Lifting 10 kilos of water in a jar up to the 5th floor, for example, might be OK for you if you’re ask to do it just once. But lifting 20 kilos all the way up to the 5th floor might be a burden, especially if you are asked to do it five times a day, seven days a week. At least that’ll be burdensome. Anyways, burden suggests it’s a difficult task. And if you’re bound by the burden of proof, you have to do it. Bound, as in duty bound. No escape. Without shirk. You have to do it. The phrase “burden of proof” is originally a legal term, point to the fact that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove what it claims is true. If you accuse someone of stealing government money, for instance, you have to prove it in court via evidence. Not only prove it, but prove it, to use another legal jargon, beyond any reasonable doubt. | 
