Trending Scientific Theories of all time
The 100 most-viewed scientific theories of all time on Wikipedia. Ranked by real-world attention. Top: Big Bang.
100
Ranked
70,151
Total Views (of all time)
1
Big Bang
hypothetical begin of the Universe through expansion out of an infinitely small and infinitely dense state
20,335
views
views
2
flat Earth
archaic conception of the Earth's shape
16,376
views
views
3
boson
quantum system invariant by exchange of two identical instances
4,259
views
views
4
Lamarckism
hypothesis that an organism can pass on characteristics that it has acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime to its offspring
3,235
views
views
5
two-nation theory
political ideology that, in the Indian subcontinent, Hindus and Muslims comprise separate nations
1,616
views
views
6
cell theory
scientific theory that living organisms are made up of cells, that they are the basic structural/organizational unit of all organisms, and t
1,566
views
views
7
theory of relativity
two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein
1,484
views
views
8
Fermi–Dirac statistics
behaviour of many identical fermions, particles with half-integer spin
1,429
views
views
9
race
nonscientific human classification system primarily based on physical appearance
1,252
views
views
10
Three Worlds Theory
Maoist interpretation and formulation of international relations
1,238
views
views
11
Dyson sphere
hypothetical megastructure, originally described by Freeman Dyson
1,090
views
views
12
general relativity
standard and classical physics theory of gravity and space
1,082
views
views
13
accelerationism
political philosophy that the prevailing system of capitalism should be expanded in order to generate radical social change
971
views
views
14
Stokes parameters
814
views
views
15
heat death paradox
paradox relating to fate of universe
674
views
views
16
Third International Theory
theory of governance proposed by Muammar Gaddafi
628
views
views
17
Flory–Huggins solution theory
Lattice model of polymer solutions
611
views
views
18
infrared radiation
electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light
551
views
views
19
Coriolis force
apparent or fictitious force on objects moving within a reference frame that rotates with respect to an inertial frame
519
views
views
20
Pauli effect
supposed tendency of technical equipment to fail in the presence of certain people
513
views
views
21
meritocracy
political system in which capital is assigned on the basis of competence
436
views
views
22
Einstein field equations
field equations in general relativity
435
views
views
23
big lie
gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth
400
views
views
24
rain follows the plow
incorrect climatology hypothesis
398
views
views
25
miasma theory
obsolete medical theory about the transmission of disease through bad air
390
views
views
26
Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
a political theory attributed to Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
383
views
views
27
Stokes shift
difference between positions of the band maxima of the absorption and emission spectra of the same electronic transition
371
views
views
28
axial tilt
angle between the rotational axis and orbital axis of a body
317
views
views
29
libertarian communalism
libertarian socialist theory
286
views
views
30
Kurgan hypothesis
theory of Indo-European origin
284
views
views
31
insanity
abnormal mental or behavioral patterns
278
views
views
32
spherical Earth
assertion that the Earth is (at least approximately) spherical
273
views
views
33
Darwinism
theory of biological evolution driven by natural selection
256
views
views
34
Thomas–Fermi model
primitive quantum mechanical model of electronic structure
229
views
views
35
vitalism
discredited scientific hypothesis
214
views
views
36
neuron doctrine
concept that the nervous system is made up of discrete individual cells
210
views
views
37
Unified neutral theory of biodiversity
theory of evolutionary biology
197
views
views
38
Schoenflies notation
notation to represent symmetry in point groups
195
views
views
39
GW190521
gravitational wave signal
183
views
views
40
Rényi entropy
family of diversity measures generalising Shannon entropy
168
views
views
41
modern evolutionary synthesis
early-20th-century scientific theory combining Darwinian evolution and Mendelian inheritance
154
views
views
42
BKS theory
approach to the interaction of matter and electromagnetic radiation based on old quantum theory
149
views
views
43
foco
theory of revolution by way of guerrilla warfare
145
views
views
44
elite theory
theory of the state
141
views
views
45
Network synthesis
a design technique for linear electrical circuits
139
views
views
46
Turing pattern
how patterns in nature, such as stripes and spots, can arise naturally and autonomously from a homogeneous, uniform state
128
views
views
47
Kramers–Wannier duality
Symmetry in statistical physics
126
views
views
48
Duverger's law
principle in political science
125
views
views
49
perturbation theory
quantum mechanics
124
views
views
50
probability axioms
axioms that are relevant to the probability theory
116
views
views
51
Penrose diagram
two-dimensional diagram that captures the causal relations between different points in spacetime
112
views
views
52
chiral perturbation theory
effective field theory which allows one to study the low-energy dynamics of QCD
105
views
views
53
extended evolutionary synthesis
set of theoretical concepts argued to be more comprehensive than the earlier modern synthesis of evolutionary biology that took place betwee
105
views
views
54
pluralism
view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their re
98
views
views
55
von Mises yield criterion
concept in continuum mechanics
96
views
views
56
Grassmann's law
Perception of color mixtures
96
views
views
57
Gallicanism
the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is co
90
views
views
58
Dyson series
perturbative expansion of the time evolution operator in the interaction picture
88
views
views
59
Aristotelian physics
natural sciences as described by Aristotle
83
views
views
60
killer ape theory
theory that war and interpersonal aggression was the driving force behind human evolution
80
views
views
61
Frenkel–Kontorova model
fundamental model of low-dimensional nonlinear physics
79
views
views
62
voting paradox (Condorcet)
Marquis de Condorcet's observation regarding times when voters' collective preferences are cyclic, even when voters' individual preferences
75
views
views
63
capability approach
economic theory
72
views
views
64
theory of tides
aspect of history
68
views
views
65
Stefan Adhesion
67
views
views
66
isospin
quantum number related to the weak interaction
64
views
views
67
Jahn–Teller effect
mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in molecular and solid-state systems
62
views
views
68
preformationism
formerly-popular theory that organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves
61
views
views
69
post-Marxism
trend in political philosophy and social theory
58
views
views
70
Neo-Darwinism
the current paradigm in evolutionary biology
56
views
views
71
Bateman's principle
Biological principle about the differential reproductive success in males versus females
52
views
views
72
thorium-230
isotope of thorium
48
views
views
73
optical aberration
phenomenon in astronomy
45
views
views
74
gene-centered view of evolution
since heritable information is passed from generation to generation almost exclusively by DNA, natural selection and evolution are best cons
45
views
views
75
emission theory
proposal that visual perception is accomplished by eye beams emitted by the eyes
45
views
views
76
expanding Earth
hypothesis
42
views
views
77
pangenesis
Darwin's hypothetical mechanism for heredity
42
views
views
78
contractualism
moral theory
41
views
views
79
Coronium
Purported element in the Sun's corona later found to be 13-fold ionized iron
40
views
views
80
dromomania
a desire for frequent traveling or wanderlust
40
views
views
81
Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics
statistical distribution used in many-particle mechanics
37
views
views
82
BKL singularity
general relativity model near the beginning of the universe
36
views
views
83
Green theory
environmental theory of international relations
36
views
views
84
Kubelka-Munk Theory
Theory of absorption in and scattering from pigmented layers
34
views
views
85
Schwarzschild black hole
34
views
views
86
Le Sage's theory of gravitation
obsolete kinetic theory of gravity that explained Newton’s gravitational force in terms of streams of unseen particles impacting material ob
33
views
views
87
Dyson tree
hypothetical genetically-engineered plant capable of growing inside a comet
32
views
views
88
elliptic filter
signal processing filter
30
views
views
89
didymium
chemical compound
30
views
views
90
Alpher–Bethe–Gamow theory
scientific theory
30
views
views
91
Young–Helmholtz theory
postulated existence of three photoreceptor types in the eye
30
views
views
92
transition state theory
scientific theory
30
views
views
93
tooth worm
erroneous theory that small worms resident within the tooth caused dental caries, periodontitis and toothaches
29
views
views
94
attention schema theory
theory of consciousness and subjective awareness
28
views
views
95
An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything
preprint
28
views
views
96
N ray
hypothesized form of radiation, described by Prosper-René Blondlot in 1903 but subsequently found to be illusory
27
views
views
97
Selectorate theory
27
views
views
98
Nebraska Man
false ancient hominid species
25
views
views
99
Fermi's interaction
mechanism of beta decay proposed in 1933 involving a non-renormalizable four-fermion term in the action
24
views
views
100
chiral anomaly
non-conservation of chiral current in physics
23
views
views