[Stratos]

Originally Posted by Yorick Wow... well, how's this: I create hypothetical scenarios all the time to illustrate a point. To preface my use of hypothesis, I'd say "let's hypothetically say that.... blah blah blah". I've even used the term numerous times on IW.

People hypothesises every now and then, yes.

I am far from unusual in this regard, and know plenty of people that do. The scientific community are hardly unique in their use of English.

Perhaps, but if you talk about scientific theories you should use the definition of a scientific theory, not the vernacular usage.

As for theory, that's a widely used word: A theory in how a crime was committed. Music theory. Economic theory. It's a very common word.

Common word, yes, and pretty sloppily used sometimes. It's OK, I guess, as long you can actually seperate the definitions.

A theory contains hypothesis, but has more implied factuality. It is still a kind of hypothesis nonetheless: an imagined scenario with the intent of explaining or communicating something unproven or as yet unverified. Both are conjecture, as is a guess.

Well, not quite. A theory can be unverified or not, or rather unsupported or not, by evidence. There's nothing implied in the word that it has to lack evidence supporting it for it to be a (scientific) theory.

In a very strict sense you could probably say that theories are conjectures and guess, albeit educated ones, but they're fairly bad synonym to use here. They both imply something unverified, which might or might not apply to theories.