Trending Scientific Theories this year
The 100 most-viewed scientific theories this year on Wikipedia. Ranked by real-world attention. Top: Big Bang.
100
Ranked
488,114
Total Views (this year)
1
Big Bang
hypothetical begin of the Universe through expansion out of an infinitely small and infinitely dense state
36,620
views
views
2
Fermi paradox
apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence and high probability estimates for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations
32,941
views
views
3
flat Earth
archaic conception of the Earth's shape
28,733
views
views
4
theory of relativity
two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein
23,345
views
views
5
race
nonscientific human classification system primarily based on physical appearance
20,372
views
views
6
Dyson sphere
hypothetical megastructure, originally described by Freeman Dyson
17,559
views
views
7
general relativity
standard and classical physics theory of gravity and space
17,546
views
views
8
accelerationism
political philosophy that the prevailing system of capitalism should be expanded in order to generate radical social change
16,002
views
views
9
uncertainty principle
fundamental principle in quantum physics
15,037
views
views
10
special relativity
physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein
12,822
views
views
11
Coriolis force
apparent or fictitious force on objects moving within a reference frame that rotates with respect to an inertial frame
9,693
views
views
12
infrared radiation
electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light
9,658
views
views
13
Bose–Einstein condensate
state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very near absolute zero
9,345
views
views
14
meritocracy
political system in which capital is assigned on the basis of competence
8,569
views
views
15
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
7,770
views
views
16
heliocentrism
astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around a relatively stationary Sun at the center of the Solar System
7,606
views
views
17
boson
quantum system invariant by exchange of two identical instances
7,330
views
views
18
germ theory of disease
prevailing theory about the cause of infectious diseases
7,036
views
views
19
Einstein field equations
field equations in general relativity
6,905
views
views
20
miasma theory
obsolete medical theory about the transmission of disease through bad air
6,212
views
views
21
Lamarckism
hypothesis that an organism can pass on characteristics that it has acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime to its offspring
6,118
views
views
22
trickle-down economics
economic theory
6,044
views
views
23
big lie
gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth
5,592
views
views
24
Third International Theory
theory of governance proposed by Muammar Gaddafi
5,237
views
views
25
continental drift
movement of Earth's continents relative to each other
4,954
views
views
26
Darwinism
theory of biological evolution driven by natural selection
4,940
views
views
27
Kurgan hypothesis
theory of Indo-European origin
4,840
views
views
28
axial tilt
angle between the rotational axis and orbital axis of a body
4,772
views
views
29
spherical Earth
assertion that the Earth is (at least approximately) spherical
4,765
views
views
30
insanity
abnormal mental or behavioral patterns
4,179
views
views
31
Realism
international relations theory
3,810
views
views
32
HIV/AIDS denialism
belief, contradicted by conclusive evidence, that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AID
3,590
views
views
33
vitalism
discredited scientific hypothesis
3,545
views
views
34
spontaneous generation
disproven theory of life arising from nonliving matter
3,423
views
views
35
free energy principle
hypothesis in neuroscience proposed by Karl Friston
3,354
views
views
36
Rényi entropy
family of diversity measures generalising Shannon entropy
3,192
views
views
37
Socialism in One Country
political theory by Joseph Stalin
3,166
views
views
38
von Mises yield criterion
concept in continuum mechanics
3,145
views
views
39
Bose-Einstein statistics
statistical description for the behaviour of bosons
3,099
views
views
40
phlogiston theory
superseded scientific theory about combustion
3,072
views
views
41
principal–agent problem
conflict of interest when one agent makes decisions on another's behalf
2,957
views
views
42
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
2,931
views
views
43
Fermi–Dirac statistics
behaviour of many identical fermions, particles with half-integer spin
2,862
views
views
44
History of atomic theory
history of scientific theory that views matter as made up of atoms of chemical elements
2,815
views
views
45
Turing pattern
how patterns in nature, such as stripes and spots, can arise naturally and autonomously from a homogeneous, uniform state
2,768
views
views
46
elite theory
theory of the state
2,619
views
views
47
two-nation theory
political ideology that, in the Indian subcontinent, Hindus and Muslims comprise separate nations
2,614
views
views
48
perturbation theory
quantum mechanics
2,574
views
views
49
kinetic theory
mathematical model explaining macroscopic properties of gases in microscopic terms
2,551
views
views
50
Penrose process
theorical process wherein energy can be extracted from a rotating black hole
2,494
views
views
51
palingenetic ultranationalism
theory concerning generic fascism
2,379
views
views
52
bricolage
construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process.
2,217
views
views
53
modern evolutionary synthesis
early-20th-century scientific theory combining Darwinian evolution and Mendelian inheritance
2,170
views
views
54
menstrual synchrony
purported menstrual cycle synchronization in women who live together
2,158
views
views
55
iron law of oligarchy
Political theory claiming that all organizations will eventually become oligarchic
2,141
views
views
56
Madman theory
feature of Richard Nixon's foreign policy
2,128
views
views
57
domino theory
theory concerning the influence of Communism
1,986
views
views
58
Three Worlds Theory
Maoist interpretation and formulation of international relations
1,985
views
views
59
foco
theory of revolution by way of guerrilla warfare
1,917
views
views
60
Penrose diagram
two-dimensional diagram that captures the causal relations between different points in spacetime
1,905
views
views
61
growing block universe
past and present exist while the future does not
1,895
views
views
62
Aristotle's biology
theory of biology, grounded in systematic observation and collection of data, mainly zoological, embodied in Aristotle's books on the scienc
1,885
views
views
63
neorealism
concept in international relations
1,881
views
views
64
probability axioms
axioms that are relevant to the probability theory
1,819
views
views
65
Duverger's law
principle in political science
1,783
views
views
66
Dirac sea
ground state of a fermionic field; thought of as a "sea" of negative-energy states that have been all filled in, thus rendering the vaccum s
1,766
views
views
67
Bell state
quantum state of two qubits that exhibits maximal quantum entanglement
1,694
views
views
68
Stokes parameters
1,614
views
views
69
Kelvin–Helmholtz instability
fluid instability that occurs when there is velocity shear in a single continuous fluid or a velocity difference across the interface betwee
1,576
views
views
70
Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory
chemical theory defining acids and bases by transfer of protons (hydrons)
1,514
views
views
71
capability approach
economic theory
1,512
views
views
72
withering away of the state
concept coined by Engels that, with the realization of socialism, the state will become obsolete and disappear as the society will govern it
1,476
views
views
73
Bell test experiments
experiments in quantum mechanics
1,460
views
views
74
killer ape theory
theory that war and interpersonal aggression was the driving force behind human evolution
1,429
views
views
75
Fresnel zone
region of space involved in radio propagation between a transmitting and receiving antenna
1,428
views
views
76
Gallicanism
the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is co
1,415
views
views
77
Jahn–Teller effect
mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in molecular and solid-state systems
1,389
views
views
78
von Neumann entropy
type of entropy in quantum statistical mechanics
1,364
views
views
79
rotating black hole
black hole with angular momentum
1,352
views
views
80
voting paradox (Condorcet)
Marquis de Condorcet's observation regarding times when voters' collective preferences are cyclic, even when voters' individual preferences
1,306
views
views
81
post-Marxism
trend in political philosophy and social theory
1,287
views
views
82
democratic peace theory
theory which posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in armed conflict with other identified democracies
1,279
views
views
83
pluralism
view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their re
1,276
views
views
84
flood geology
attempt to interpret and reconcile geological features of the Earth in accordance with a literal belief in the global flood described in Gen
1,225
views
views
85
Fresnel diffraction
diffraction
1,219
views
views
86
devolution
process of evolving from a complex organism to a simpler organism
1,213
views
views
87
Pauli effect
supposed tendency of technical equipment to fail in the presence of certain people
1,210
views
views
88
refrigerator mother theory
discredited historical theory that autistic spectrum disorders are caused by a lack of parental emotional warmth
1,187
views
views
89
Unified neutral theory of biodiversity
theory of evolutionary biology
1,163
views
views
90
Aristotelian physics
natural sciences as described by Aristotle
1,157
views
views
91
heat death paradox
paradox relating to fate of universe
1,091
views
views
92
isospin
quantum number related to the weak interaction
1,089
views
views
93
particle horizon
the maximum distance from which light from particles could have traveled to the observer during the age of the universe
1,077
views
views
94
Neo-Darwinism
the current paradigm in evolutionary biology
1,056
views
views
95
Flory–Huggins solution theory
Lattice model of polymer solutions
1,023
views
views
96
orthogenesis
obsolete biological hypothesis that organisms have an innate tendency to evolve towards some goal
1,021
views
views
97
Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics
statistical distribution used in many-particle mechanics
1,003
views
views
98
preformationism
formerly-popular theory that organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves
966
views
views
99
Stokes flow
fluid flow where advective inertial forces are small compared with viscous forces
962
views
views
100
optical aberration
phenomenon in astronomy
943
views
views