"Science's success hinges on a very rigorous application of the principles
of logical deduction and the meticulous testing of hypotheses...although
these proceses derive from common sense, the rigour with which they are
applied in science is genuinely unnatural....for the scientist as much as
the layman, the restrictions of the scientific method become irksome: we
want to leap ahead, to jump to conclusions, to act impetuously on an
exciting new idea and bask in the glory of everyone's recognition of our
achievement...detailed analysis is hopelessly inefficient in the context of
everyday survival. Our minds have been honed to find rules of thumb that
suffice for everyday purposes as quickly as possible...our minds seem
predisposed to deal with social matters rather than the nature of the
physical world...to this...crucial element in our story...we now must
turn." p. 13
Ok, I'm better now...
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Reed Konsler konsler@ascat.harvard.edu
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