A fact is a statistic, datum, or event that is objective,
observable, and recordable. Facts are used as evidence to make
claims. Facts are generally held to be mind-independent, i.e.
they would continue to be the case whether or not anyone
believed them, or indeed whether or not there were any minds to
believe them in the first place. Facts are different from
theories, which attempt to explain trends in facts. Facts are
also different from opinions, which are subjective
interpretations of facts. In history and journalism, "facts"
refer to recorded, independently-verifiable events or
statistics. In science, "facts" are observations or data, (fact:
at sea-level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, while other
liquids boil at different temperatures) and theories are built
to explain facts (theory: why water boils at 100 C, why
different liquids have different boiling points). During The
18th century Enlightenment, the statement "facts are stubborn
things" was widely repeated. It encapsulates an Enlightenment
bel