Do you understand the difference between a "hypothesis" and a "theory"? Physics professor Rhett Alain thinks you probably don't. But he says that's not your fault. The words just aren't terribly precise, at least in the public parlance, and they only serve to make discussions about science confusing. He has a modest proposal: Let's replace them both with something that makes sense to the general public.
I think it's pretty ridiculous to say that the terms are bad because some people don't understand them. I don't see how replacing them with the term "model" is going to avoid that problem in the future; I could already imagine someone dismissing an idea based on the term "model" because models are what kids make in school, right? Or perhaps people will talk about how evolution was a theory and got downgraded to a model. Point is: you don't cure stupidity by pandering to it.
Very well said. It's not like they don't have the opportunity to learn.. Save for very rare examples, everyone who can't tell the difference between "theory" and "hypothesis" could find out in five minutes max with a well placed Google query. These days, there isn't much stupidity. Just ignorance and laziness. This isn't even just pandering to stupidity, it's catering and enabling a non-curious and lazy generation!
Oh, and student here, no. I don't think "theory" and "hypothesis" are dead. Nor does everyone above me and below me. Kindergarteners learn this for pete's sake.