Fact

A fact is something that is true or can be proved with evidence. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability-that is, whether it can be demonstrated to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement (by experiments or other means). Fact may also indicate findings derived through a process of evaluation, including review of testimony, direct observation, or otherwise; as distinguishable from matters of inference or speculation. This use is reflected in the terms "fact-find" and "fact-finder" (e.g., "set up a fact-finding commission"). Facts may be checked by reason, experiment, personal experience, or may be argued from authority. Roger Bacon wrote "If in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics."In most common law jurisdictions, the general concept and analysis of fact reflects fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and is supported by several well-established standards. Matters of fact have various formal definitions under common law jurisdictions. These include:1. an element required in legal pleadings to demonstrate a cause of action;2. the determinations of the finder of fact after evaluating admissible evidence produced in a trial or hearing;3. a potential ground of reversible error forwarded on appeal in an appellate court; and4. any of various matters subject to investigation by official authority to establish whether a crime has been perpetrated, and to establish culpability. This book gives an overview of these principles in hopes of aiding the reader in critical thinking when trying to determine "Fact" from "The Not True", "Opinion" and "Statistics"