Hi John and Ara. I thought I would put my 4 cents worth in here. Inflation you know. 2 cents doesn’t go very far now days.

I thought I would look at the meaning of the words speculation and theory. As a card carrying analyst for the Air Force I would speculate about a lot of different things. There were times when this speculation was called theory. The following is what I found.

Theory. A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena

A tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena

A belief that can guide behavior

Speculation. A message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

A hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)

An investment that is very risky but could yield great profits

Continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature

It seems to me that many theories start out as speculation. It could even be said that theory is speculation on steroids. Having said that I speculate that my theory on speculation and theory isn’t going to be accepted by everyone. Take Care…Don the old speculator.