Testability, a property applying to an empirical

Empirical

The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....

 hypothesis

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...

, involves two components: (1) the logical property that is variously described as contingency, defeasibility, or falsifiability

Falsifiability

Falsifiability or refutability of an assertion, hypothesis or theory is the logical possibility that it can be contradicted by an observation or the outcome of a physical experiment...

, which means that counterexample

Counterexample

In logic, and especially in its applications to mathematics and philosophy, a counterexample is an exception to a proposed general rule. For example, consider the proposition "all students are lazy"....

s to the hypothesis are logically possible, and (2) the practical feasibility of observing a reproducible

Reproducibility

Reproducibility is the ability of an experiment or study to be accurately reproduced, or replicated, by someone else working independently...

 series of such counterexamples if they do exist. In short, a hypothesis

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...

 is testable if there is some real hope of deciding whether it is true or false of real experience. Upon this property of its constituent hypotheses rests the ability to decide whether a theory

Theory

The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...

 can be supported or falsified by the data of actual experience. If hypotheses are tested, initial results may also be labeled inconclusive.

In engineering, this refers to the capability of an equipment or system to be tested.

See also

• Confirmability
• Contingency
• controllability
  Controllability
  Controllability is an important property of a control system, and the controllability property plays a crucial role in many control problems, such as stabilization of unstable systems by feedback, or optimal control....
  
  
• observability
  Observability
  Observability, in control theory, is a measure for how well internal states of a system can be inferred by knowledge of its external outputs. The observability and controllability of a system are mathematical duals. The concept of observability was introduced by American-Hungarian scientist Rudolf E...
  
  
• Scientific method
  Scientific method
  Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
  
  
• Software testability
  Software testability
  Software testability is the degree to which a software artifact supports testing in a given test context....
  
  

Further reading

• Popper, K. R.
  Karl Popper
  Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
  
  (1968) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London; Hutchinson.