What is a Null and Alternate hypothesis?
I’ll have a go. These 2 Hypotheses (educated guesses) are always mutually exclusive. That is, only one can be right. The Null hypothesis is a hypothesis which the researcher tries to disprove, reject or nullify. Hence the name Null. It is what is believed to be true at the time. Like say, “The earth is a planet that goes around the sun”. The Alternative is the well alternative viewpoint that is being tested. The ‘null’ often refers to the common view of something, while the alternative hypothesis is what the researcher are imagining is the new truth. The null hypothesis is assumed to be true unless we find evidence to the contrary. If we find that the evidence is just too unlikely given the null hypothesis, we assume the alternative hypothesis is more likely to be correct. Here is an example of how it works to improve our knowledge: Up until the 1500’s most people thought that the world was flat (At the time: The null hypothesis). Columbus challenged this idea with the alternative hypo
