>>>The "proof" of a theory depends on its usefulness in predicting the future. But, a response can only be judged "incredibly stupid" with the benefit of hindsight.
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>Sort of agree on the first- though a good theory can be used to change the future/prevent chaos, e.g. the recent near-collapse of the financial systems. The second seems wrong... you don't need to throw yourself off a cliff or poke a killer bees' nest with a stick to know it's stupid. Trying to prove that it's stupid would itself be stupid. ;-)

Cliffs - notwithstanding the well-developed theory of gravitation, most people learn very young what small falls feel like, and can extrapolate large ones. Hindsight.

Killer bees - the result of disturbing a bees' nest is not obvious. Knowing it's bad is a result of retained knowledge (what some might call "culture") i.e. hindsight.